Tataouinea

Say it like this: “ta-tah-wee-nee-uh”

Tataouinea hannibalis

Tataouinea ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in TN.

Quiz me on Tataouinea

When: Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 2013 · Fanti, F.; Cau, A.; Hassine, M.; Contessi, M.
Hip height: 2.5 m · 8 ft
Length: 14 m · 46 ft
Weight: 8 tonnes
Found in: TN · Aïn el Guettar
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Rebbachisaurinae

The story in short

Tataouinea was formally named in 2013 by F. Fanti and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Early Cretaceous (Albian), roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from TN, including the Aïn el Guettar Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Tataouinea at a length near 14 m, hips about 2.5 m high, and a body mass around 8 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Demandasaurus

Demandasaurus darwini

Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian) · roughly 125.8 to 113.2 million years ago

Nigersaurus

Nigersaurus taqueti

Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago

Rebbachisaurus

Rebbachisaurus garasbae

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago