Bruhathkayosaurus

Bruhathkayosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma
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Speculative life restoration of Bruhathkayosaurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Clade: †Macronaria
Clade: †Titanosauria
Genus: †Bruhathkayosaurus
Yadagiri & Ayyasami, 1987
Species:
†B. matleyi
Binomial name
†Bruhathkayosaurus matleyi
Yadagiri & Ayyasami, 1987

Bruhathkayosaurus (/bruːˌhæθkeɪoʊˈsɔːrəs/; meaning "huge-bodied lizard") is a controversial genus of sauropod dinosaur found in the Kallamedu Formation of India. The fragmentary remains were originally described as a theropod, but it was later determined to be a titanosaurian sauropod. Length estimates by researchers exceed those of the titanosaur Argentinosaurus,[1] as longer than 35 metres (115 ft) and weighing over 80 tonnes. A 2023 estimate placed Bruhathkayosaurus as potentially weighing approximately 110–170 tonnes (110–170 long tons; 120–190 short tons), with paleontologist Michael Benton, giving Bruhathkayosaurus a length of 45 metres (148 ft).[2] If the upper estimates of the 2023 records are accurate, Bruhathkayosaurus may have rivalled the blue whale as one of the largest animals to ever exist.[3] However, all of the estimates are based on the dimensions of the fossils described in Yadagiri and Ayyasami (1987), and in 2017, it was reported that the holotype fossils had disintegrated and no longer exist.[4][5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Paul1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Benton, Michael (31 October 2023). Dinosaur Behavior: An Illustrated Guide. Princeton University Press. pp. 94–95. ISBN 9780691244297.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bruhathkayosaurus2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference YadagiriAyyasami was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).