Rebbachisaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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Holotype dorsal vertebra (A, B) and scapula (C) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Sauropoda |
Superfamily: | †Diplodocoidea |
Family: | †Rebbachisauridae |
Genus: | †Rebbachisaurus Lavocat, 1954 |
Species: | †R. garasbae
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Binomial name | |
†Rebbachisaurus garasbae Lavocat, 1954
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Synonyms | |
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Rebbachisaurus (meaning "Aït Rebbach lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur of the superfamily Diplodocoidea, that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in Africa and possibly also South America about 99-97 million years ago. Remains attributed to Rebbachisaurus have been found in Morocco, Niger, Algeria, Tunisia and possibly also Argentina (if Rayososaurus is the same animal as Rebbachisaurus), although only the Moroccan remains can be referred to the genus without doubt. The discovery of Rayososaurus, a South American sauropod nearly identical to Rebbachisaurus which may have actually have been the same animal as Rebbachisaurus, supports the theory that there was still a land connection between Africa and South America during the Early Cretaceous, long after it was commonly thought the two continents had separated.[2]