Nigersaurus taqueti

Nigersaurus is the most common vertebrate fossil from the Nigerian Elrhaz Formation. It had hundreds of very small sharp teeth and its skull was oriented downward indicating it was a low level browser.

Name

Nigersaurus taqueti

Authority

Sereno, Beck, Dutheil, Larsson, Lyon, Moussa, Sadleir, Sidor, Varricchio, Wilson G. P. & Wilson, J. A. 1999

Meaning of generic name

Niger, for the Republique du Niger; sauros, lizard (Greek).

Meaning of specific name

In honour of French paleontologist Philippe Taquet.

Size

Length: 9 m, Skull length:

Remains

Holotype (MNN GAD512): Partial articulated skeleton that includes a partial skull, neck, scapula, forelimbs, and hind limbs

Referred materials: Several partial skeletons and isolated bones.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Elrhaz Formation, Tegama Group. Lower Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian). Locality: Gadoufaoua region, Niger.

Classification

Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Diplodocoidea Rebbachisauridae

Further Reading

P. C. Sereno, A. L. Beck, D. B. Dutheil, H. C. E. Larsson, G. H. Lyon, B. Moussa, R. W. Sadleir, C. A. Sidor, D. J. Varricchio, G. P. Wilson, and J. A. Wilson. 1999. Cretaceous sauropods from the Sahara and the uneven rate of skeletal evolution among dinosaurs. Science 286:1342-1347.

P. C. Sereno and J. A. Wilson. 2005. Structure and evolution of a sauropod tooth battery. In J. A. Wilson & K. A. Curry Rogers (eds.), The Sauropods: Evolution and Paleobiology. University of California Press, Berkeley 157-177.

P.C. Sereno, J.A. Wilson L.M. Witmer J.A. Whitlock, A. Maga A, et al. 2007 Structural Extremes in a Cretaceous Dinosaur. PLoS ONE 2(11): e1230.

Synonyms

Rebbachisaurus tamesnensis Lapparent, 1960