Vahiny (meaning "traveller" in Malagasy[1]) is an extinct genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of the Maevarano Formation, northwestern Madagascar. It contains a single species, Vahiny depereti.[1]
| Vahiny Temporal range: Maastrichtian
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Clade: | †Colossosauria |
| Genus: | †Vahiny Curry Rogers & Wilson, 2014 |
| Type species | |
| †Vahiny depereti Curry Rogers & Wilson, 2014
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Description
editVahiny was first described and named by Kristina Curry Rogers and Jeffrey A. Wilson in 2014 and the type species is Vahiny depereti. It is known solely from the Late Cretaceous Maevarano Formation located in northwestern Madagascar, together with the more common titanosaur, Rapetosaurus krausei. Rapetosaurus is the most common dinosaur in its fauna and is known from hundreds of bones, including multiple partial skeletons and skulls, while other taxa are extremely rare, including Vahiny identified from a partial braincase. Vahiny is distinguished from other titanosaurs by characteristics of its braincase, including the basal tubera, basipterygoid processes, parasphenoid and cranial nerve foramina. Differences in the braincases of Vahiny and Rapetosaurus indicate that they are not closely related to one another. Vahiny is most similar to Jainosaurus from the Late Cretaceous of India, and bears similarities to the South American taxa Muyelensaurus and Pitekunsaurus.[1]
References
edit
- ^ a b c Rogers, Kristina Curry; Wilson, Jeffrey A. (2014). "Vahiny depereti, gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Maevarano Formation, Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 606. Bibcode:2014JVPal..34..606R. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.822874.
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