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PANAMERICANSAURUS
(pan-ah-meh-re-can-sore-us)
meaning: "Pan American Energy Co lizard"
Panamericansaurus
Named By: J. O. Calvo & J. D. Porfiri in 2010
Time Period: Late Cretaceous
Location: Argentina - Allen Formation
Size: Estimated to be about 11 meters long
Diet: Herbivore
Fossil(s): Humerus (upper fore limb bone), several vertebrae and partial ribs
Classification: | Chordata | Reptilia | Dinosauria | Saurischia | Sauropoda | Titanosauria | Aeolosauridae | Aeolosaurini |
About

Panamericansaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. It is very similar to the closely related Aeolosaurus, differing only in details of the vertebrae.

The type species Panamericansaurus schroederi was named and described by Jorge Orlando Calvo and Juan Domingo Porfiri in 2010. The generic name refers to the Pan American Energy company which financially supported the paleontological investigations. The specific name honours the Schroeder family on whose land the remains were found. The describers placed Panamericansaurus in a clade within the Titanosauridae, the Aeolosaurini, of which also Aeolosaurus and Gondwanatitan are members.

The holotype MUCPv-417 was in June 2003 found near San Patricio del Chanar, in Neuquen in a layer of the Allen Formation dating from the Campanian-Maastrichtian. It consists of five tail vertebrae, a sacral vertebra, a left humerus, haemal arches and rib fragments. The humerus is 123 centimetres long. The total length of the holotype individual was estimated at eleven metres.

Read more about Panamericansaurus at Wikipedia
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