Describer

Bonaparte & Mateus, 1999

Time

Jurassic Late

Classification

Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Diplodocidae

Diet

Herbivore

Fossilsite

Amoreira - Porto Novo Formation of Lourinha, Portugal

Info

Genus - Typespecies

Presacral vertebrae of a new Diplodocidae from the Late Jurassic Amoreira - Porto Novo Formation of Lourinha, Portugal are described andfigured. Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis g.et sp. nov. is diagnosed by welldeveloped accessory articulations derived from the hyposphene, exposed inlateral view; and by the smaller dorsoventral length of the lower section ofthe neural arch.

It is considered that the organisation of the dorsal neuralarch of Dinheirosaurus is more derived than in Diplodocus, except in thedorsoventral development of the lower portion of it, which is higher (morederived) in the latter. Possibly the isolated geography of Portugal in the Late Jurassic gave rise to the distinct characters of this new genus.