Kingdom Animalia Clade Dinosauria Species †V. chubutensis Rank Genus | Class Reptilia Suborder †Sauropodomorpha Phylum Chordata Order Saurischia | |
Similar Patagosaurus, Coloradisaurus, Lapparentosaurus, Amygdalodon, Piatnitzkysaurus | ||
Volkheimeria (meaning "of Volkheimer") was an eusauropod sauropod dinosaur. It lived during the Middle Jurassic, approximately 160 million years ago. Fossils of Volkheimeria have been found in Argentina. The type (and only known) species, V. chubutensis, was described by José Bonaparte in 1979.
Discovery and naming
Volkheimeria was first described in 1979 by Jose Bonaparte. In the paper, Bonaparte also named its type species, V. chubutensis. The only known specimen is from the Callovian to Oxfordian aged Patagonian deposits that also preserved Patagosaurus and Piatnitzkysaurus, both named in the same publication as Volkheimeria. All that is known of the species is some incomplete postcrania, including a mostly complete pelvis and vertebrae. Many features of this scant material can distinguish Volkheimeria especially in the pelvic and vertebral regions.