Titanosauria

Titanosaurs
Temporal range: Cretaceous, 140–66 Ma
Mounted Patagotitan on display at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Somphospondyli
Clade: Titanosauria
Bonaparte & Coria, 1993
Subgroups[11][12][13][14]
Titanosaurs of uncertain affinity and basal genera

Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as Patagotitan, estimated at 37 m (121 ft) long[15] with a weight of 69 tonnes (76 tons),[16] and the comparably-sized Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus from the same region.

The group's name alludes to the mythological Titans of ancient Greek mythology, via the type genus (now considered a nomen dubium) Titanosaurus. Together with the brachiosaurids and relatives, titanosaurs make up the larger sauropod clade Titanosauriformes. Titanosaurs have long been a poorly-known group, and the relationships between titanosaur species are still not well-understood.

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  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference gorscak19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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