Paralititan

*Paralititan stromeri*

***Paralititan*** ("tidal giant") was a genus of giant titanosaurian Sauropods that lived throughout the Cretaceous Period. Because not many fossils of *Paralititan* have been found, little is known about them. Eats 720 lbs of plant food each day. Fossilized *Paralititan* remains were first discovered in the Upper Cretaceous coastal deposits of the Bahariya Formation in Egypt. The fossil was well preserved in the tidal flat deposits, which contained fossil mangrove vegetation. It was called by one science journalist "what appears to have been the second largest known creature ever to walk on Earth."

## Discovery

Joshua Smith and his fellow discoverers called it *Paralititan stromeri*, which means "Stromer's tidal (Greek para + halos "near sea") titan" or "Stromer's tidal giant". It was named by Joshua B. Smith, Matthew C. Lamanna, Kenneth J. Lacovara, Peter Dodson, Jennifer R. Smith, Jason C. Poole, Robert Giegengack and Yousri Attia in 2001 to honor Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach, a German paleontologist and geologist who found dinosaurs in this area in the early 1900s.

Though the remains were well preserved, there were not many. Scientists have determined that the available materials suggest that *Paralititan* was among the largest dinosaurs to have ever lived. Researchers have come to the conclusion that *Paralititan* may have possessed osteoderms in order to defend itself from large predators. The fossilized specimen appears to have been scavenged by a large carnivore. This opens up the possibility that large carnivorous dinosaurs, such as *Carcharodontosaurus* may have hunted *Paralititan* as its prey. It was over 108.5 feet (32.5 meters) long and weighed 65 tons, making it big even by dinosaur standards. It had a long neck that could easily get to the highest parts of trees, and a huge gut designed to digest huge amounts of plant material.

## Description

Little of *Paralititan* is known, so its exact size is difficult to estimate. However, the limited material suggests that it is one of the most massive dinosaurs ever discovered, with an estimated weight of 59 tonnes (65 short tons). Using *Saltasaurus* as a guide, Carpenter estimated its length at around 26 meters (85 ft). Like other titanosaurs, it had a wide-gauge stance and may have possessed osteoderms for defense. The *Paralititan* type specimen appears to have been scavenged by a meat-eater. It is also possible that Paralititan was hunted by large predatory dinosaurs such as *Carcharodontosaurus*.

## Palaeoenvironment

The autochthonous, scavenged skeleton was preserved in tidal flat deposits containing fossil mangrove vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem it inhabited was situated along the southern shore of the Tethys Sea. *Paralititan* is the first dinosaur demonstrated to have inhabited a mangrove biome.

It was a ground-dwelling herbivore.

It lived at the same time as giant predator *Carcharodontosaurus*, sauropod *Aegyptosaurus* and the largest of all theropods *Spinosaurus*. It is possible that *Paralititan* was hunted by *Carcharodontosaurus* which was closely related the Giganotosaurs of South America which hunted other Titanosaurs, for example the 30 metre long *Argentinosaurus*.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Paralititan is one of the biggest dinosaurs yet discovered, second in size only to Argentinosaurus. Its description is based on just over 100 bone fragments from 16 different bones. Though further evidence is needed, some scientists speculate that it could be so closely related to Argentinosaurus that it may ultimately prove to be of the same genus.

The discovery of this giant was the direct result of a German scientist named Ernst Stromer. While working in the Egyptian desert in 1916, Stromer uncovered several strange new dinosaurs that he excavated and brought back to Germany. Unfortunately, his records, all of the fossils, and the museum that housed them were destroyed in an Allied bombing raid during World War II. Many years later an old manuscript was found that contained the location of the site where Stromer had made his discoveries. Researchers used this information to return to the site, where they uncovered Paralititan.

The discovery of Paralititan represents the opening of a whole new geographic area that could be rich with fossils and scientific information. Many scientists think that North Africa may change what we know about certain dinosaurs and the environment in which they lived. As an example, Paralititan is the first known sauropod to have lived among mangroves.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20040214161420fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_paral.html