Phuwiangosaurus
Name:
Phuwiangosaurus
(Phu Wiang lizard).
Phonetic: Fu-we-ang-o-sore-us.
Named By: V. Martin, E. Buffetaut &
V. Sweethorn - 1994.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Nemegtosauridae.
Species: P. sirindhornae
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Roughly about 12.2 meters long.
Known locations: Thailand - Sao Khua Formation.
Time period: Barremian/Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Holotype based upon partial
but articulated remains. A second individual described in 2009 is
preserved at around 60% completeness for the post cranial skeleton
(including pelvis, rear leg bones, ribs and partial and complete
vertebrae from the entire spinal column), as well as partial skull.
Phuwiangosaurus
was first named as a titanosaurid
dinosaur in 1994, and was the
first named sauropod dinosaur known to have come from Thailand. The
name Phuwiangosaurus translates as ‘Phu Wiang
lizard’ and is a
reference to the district of Phu Wiang District of Thailand. The
species name P. sirindhornae was in honour of
Princess Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn of Thailand.
The
problem with the first specimen of Phuwiangosaurus
was that although it
was articulated, it only represented about ten per cent of the
animal, something that left a lot of questions about Phuwiangosaurus
unanswered. However, 2009 saw the publication (Suteethorn et
al) of a description of a second specimen of Phuwiangosaurus,
and
this dramatically improved our understanding of this titanosaurid
dinosaur. With most of the vertebral column recovered, even if some
vertebrae were only partially preserved, the total length of this
second specimen was estimated to be about twelve meters long.
Phuwiangosaurus was also confirmed to be similar to
Nemegtosaurus
from
Mongolia, something which has now seen Phuwiangosaurus
placed within
the Nemegtosauridae family of titanosaurs. Altogether this second
specimen had approximately sixty per cent of the total remains
preserved, something that marks it as one of the best preserved
dinosaurs from Thailand, as well as one of the most complete
titanosaurs ever found.
Further reading
- Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs of Thailand: a preliminary report.
In T. Thanasutipitak (ed.). Proceedings of the International
Symposium on Biostratigraphy of mainland Southeast Asia. Chiang Mai
University. 2: 415-425. - V. Martin, E. Buffetaut
&
V. Sweethorn - 1993.
- A new genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Sao Khua formation
(Late Jurassic or early Cretaceous) of northeastern Thailand. -
Comptes Rendus de l’ Academie des Science de Paris. 319(2):
1085-1092. - V. Martin, E. Buffetaut & V.
Sweethorn
- 1994.
- Description of the type and referred material of Phuwiangosaurus
sirindhornae Martin, Buffetaut and Suteethorn, 1994, a
sauropod
from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand. - Oryctos 2: 39-91. -
V. Martin, E. Buffetaut & V. Sweethorn - 1999.
- A new skeleton of Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae
(Dinosauria,
Sauropoda) from NE Thailand - Geological Society, London,
Special Publications v. 315; p. 189-215 doi:10.1144/SP315.14.
- S. Suteethorn, J. Le Loeuff, E. Buffetaut, V.
Suteethorn, C. Talubmook & C. Chonglakmani - 2009.
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