Itapeuasaurus (meaning "Itapeua lizard") is a genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Alcântara Formation (Itapecuru Group) of Maranhão in Brazil. The type and only species is Itapeuasaurus cajapioensis.[1] It is the most complete Cenomanian-aged diplodocoid known from South America and it is also the first reported Cenomanian-aged rebbachisaurid discovered in South America.

Itapeuasaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian
Skeletal reconstruction of the holotype specimen (UFMA. 1.10.1960a), with unknown elements based on Demandasaurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Superfamily: Diplodocoidea
Family: Rebbachisauridae
Subfamily: Rebbachisaurinae
Genus: Itapeuasaurus
Lindoso et al. 2019
Type species
Itapeuasaurus cajapioensis
Lindoso et al. 2019

Discovery and naming

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In November 2014, fisherman Carlos Wagner Silva discovered a fossilised humerus on the beach at Itapeua. In May 2015, paleontologist Manuel Alfredo Medeiros and his students were sent in and they secured several bones, including the holotype, UFMA. 1.10.1960a, which consists of six vertebrae, and a paratype containing around six to seven vertebrae, a humerus and a partial ischium - the largest preserved vertebra reached up to 40 centimetres (16 in). Because the location where the holotype was found is an intertidal area, excavating the holotype was very hard and could only be excavated around four hours a day during each daily tidal cycle.[1] In 2019, the species Itapeuasaurus cajapioensis was named and described.[1]

Phylogeny

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Lindoso et al., (2019) placed Itapeuasaurus in the Nigersaurinae, as the sister taxon to Demandasaurus.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Rafael Matos Lindoso; Manuel Alfredo Araújo Medeiros; Ismar de Souza Carvalho; Agostinha Araújo Pereira; Ighor Dienes Mendes; Fabiano Vidoi Iori; Eliane Pinheiro Sousa; Silvia Helena Souza Arcanjo; Taciane Costa Madeira Silva (2019). "A new rebbachisaurid (Sauropoda: Diplodocoidea) from the middle Cretaceous of northern Brazil". Cretaceous Research. 104: Article 104191. Bibcode:2019CrRes.10404191L. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104191. S2CID 201321631.