Atsinganosaurus
Atsinganosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which existed in what is now France during the Late Cretaceous. Well-preserved remains of Atsinganosaurus were collected from the Grès à Reptiles Formation of the Aix-en-Provence Basin. The type and only species is A. velauciensis.
Discovery and naming
Between 2009 and 2010, excavations were carried out at the Grès à Reptiles Formation at Velaux-La Bastide Neuve by the Palaios Association and the University of Poitiers. During the excavations, the holotype of Atsinganosaurus, VBN.93.01.a-d, a set of four posterior dorsal vertebrae, was discovered along with the remains of Garrigatitan, another titanosaurian. Atsinganosaurus was first described by Géraldine Garcia, Sauveur Amico, Francois Fournier, Eudes Thouand and Xavier Valentin in 2010, and the type species is A. velauciensis. The holotype now resides in the collection of the University of Poitiers.More specimens, including an occipital condyle, a right portion of the braincase and a probable left pterygoid, were described by Díez Díaz et al., and a few parts of the skull, several teeth, vertebrae from each section of the vertebral column, ribs, chevrons, shoulder and pelvic girdle elements, most of the bones of the arm, and most of the bones of the leg are also known from multiple individuals, including VBN.93.MHNA.99.21.