Genus
Valid Extinct

Paralititan

Smith et al. 2001
Etymology géant du littoral

Paralititan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in present-day Egypt during the Late Cretaceous period. It was described by American paleontologist Joshua B. Smith and colleagues in 2001. The genus contains a single species, Paralititan stromeri, named based on a fragmentary skeleton including vertebrae and limb bones. These fossils were unearthed by an American expedition to the Bahariya Oasis in western Egypt in rock layers of the Bahariya Formation. This formation dates to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, which lasted 101 to 94 million years ago. An incomplete dorsal (back) vertebra that had been described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1932 was also assigned to Paralititan. However, this vertebra had been destroyed during the Bombing of Munich in World War II.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Paralititan
click to enlarge
Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Saurischia Unranked clade
Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
Massopoda Unranked clade
Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
Sauropoda Unranked clade
Gravisauria Unranked clade
Eusauropoda Unranked clade
Neosauropoda Unranked clade
Macronaria Unranked clade
Titanosauriformes Unranked clade
Somphospondyli Unranked clade
Titanosauria Unranked clade
Lithostrotia Unranked clade
Paralititan Genus
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇩🇿 Algeria
1
🇪🇬 Egypt
1
Geological formations
Baharîje
1
Temporal distribution
Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)
2
Species (1)
Paralititan stromeri 101 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
J. B. Smith, M. C. Lamanna, and K. J. Lacovara, P. Dodson, J. R. Smith, J. C. Poole, R. Giegengack, Y. Attia. 2001. A giant sauropod dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit in Egypt. Science 292:1704-1706 DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
A. Gabani, C. Mammeri, and M. Adaci, M. Bensalah, M. Mahboubi. 2016. Le Crétacé continental à vertébrés de la bordure sud du plateau de Tinhert: découvertes paléontologiques et considérations stratigraphiques [The continental Cretaceous vertebrates of the southern border of the Tinhert Plateau: paleontological discoveries and stratigraphic considerations]. Mémoire du service géologique de l’Algérie 19:39-61
J. B. Smith, M. C. Lamanna, and K. J. Lacovara, P. Dodson, J. R. Smith, J. C. Poole, R. Giegengack, Y. Attia. 2001. A giant sauropod dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit in Egypt. Science 292:1704-1706 DOI ↗