Punatitan

Say it like this: “POO-na-TIE-tuhn”

Punatitan coughlini

Punatitan ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.

Quiz me on Punatitan

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
Named in: 2020 · Hechenleitner, E. M.; Leuzinger, L.; Martinelli, A. G.; Rocher, S.; Fiorelli, L. E.; Taborda, J. R. A.; Salgado, L.
Hip height: 2.8 m · 9 ft
Length: 14 m · 46 ft
Weight: 6 tonnes
Found in: Argentina · Ciénaga del Río Huaco
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Aeolosaurini

The story in short

In 2020, E. M. Hechenleitner and colleagues published the name Punatitan. The name means “puna giant.”

Fossils referred to Punatitan date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian), roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Ciénaga del Río Huaco Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Punatitan at a length near 14 m, hips about 2.8 m high, and a body mass around 6 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Aeolosaurini, among the sauropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Adamantisaurus

Adamantisaurus mezzalirai

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago

Aeolosaurus

Aeolosaurus rionegrinus

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago

Arrudatitan

Arrudatitan maximus

Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago