Kingdom Animalia Clade Dinosauria Clade †Neosauropoda Phylum Chordata Order Saurischia | Class Reptilia Suborder †Sauropodomorpha Clade †Macronaria Rank Genus | |
Similar Muyelensaurus, Rinconsaurus, Epachthosaurus, Malarguesaurus, Panamericansaurus | ||
Pitekunsaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén, Argentina. It was described by L. Filippi and A. Garrido in 2008. The type species is P. macayai. The generic name is derived from Mapudungun pitekun, meaning "to discover", the epitheton honours the discoverer, oil company explorer Luis Macaya, who found the fossil in April 2004.
Classification
Pitekunsaurus appears to be a genus of aeolosaurid, most closely related to the genera Gondwanatitan and Aeolosaurus. Its braincase closely resembles that of the aeolosaurid Muyelensaurus as well as the titanosaurs incertae sedis Vahiny and Jainosaurus. It cannot be compared to the more closely related Aeolosaurus and Gondwanatitan in this regard, as neither genus is known from cranial material.