Duriatitan Explained

Duriatitan is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic in what is now England. The holotype specimen of Duriatitan, BMNH 44635, is a partial left upper arm bone which was found by R.I. Smith near Sandsfoot, Weymouth in the lower Kimmeridge Clay from Dorset. The type species, D. humerocristatus, was described in 1874 by John Hulke as a species of Cetiosaurus and was noted as being similar to that of Gigantosaurus. The specific name refers to the deltopectoral crest, crista, on the upper arm bone, humerus.^[1] The specimen was assigned to its own genus by Paul M. Barrett, Roger B.J. Benson and Paul Upchurch in 2010. The generic name is derived from the Latin name for Dorset, Duria, and Greek Titan.^[2] Thomas Holtz estimated its length at 25 meters (82 ft).^[3]

Gigantosaurus megalonyx was once synonymised with Duriatitan while D. humerocristatus was still a species of Ornithopsis.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Hulke, J. W. . 1874 . Note on a very large saurian limb-bone adapted for progression upon land, from the Kimmeridge clay of Weymouth, Dorset . Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London . 30 . 1–4. 16–17 . 10.1144/gsl.jgs.1874.030.01-04.17. 129254662 .
2. Paul M. Barrett, Roger B.J. Benson and Paul Upchurch . 2010 . Dinosaurs of Dorset: Part II, the sauropod dinosaurs (Saurischia, Sauropoda) with additional comments on the theropods . Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society . 131 . 113–126.
3. Web site: Holtz's Genus List. Holtz. Thomas R.. 2012.
4. Lydekker, R. (1888). Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I. Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria. British Museum (Natural History):London, 1-309.