''Tastavinsaurus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of sauropod

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

belonging to the

Titanosauriformes Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs. Macronarians are named after the large diameter of the nasal opening of their skull, known as the external naris, which exceeded the size of the orbit, the skull opening where the eye is located (hence ...

. It is based on a partial skeleton from the Early Cretaceous

Xert Formation The Calizas y margas de Xert Formation or Xert Formation is an Early Cretaceous (late Barremian) geologic formation of the Maestrazgo and Galve Basins in central-eastern Spain. The formation is described as a coastal claystone, with indications o ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

is ''Tastavinsaurus sanzi'', named in honor of the Rio Tastavins in Spain and Spanish paleontologist José Luis Sanz. ''Tastavinsaurus sanzi'' is known from two specimens, one from the

and one from the Forcall Formation. ''Tastavinsaurus'' was originally described as a somphospondylan, but it may be a brachiosaurid. The clade Laurasiformes was coined for ''Tastavinsaurus'' and its close relatives, which may include ''

Cedarosaurus ''Cedarosaurus'' (meaning "Cedar lizard" - named after the Cedar Mountain Formation, in which it was discovered) was a nasal-crested macronarian dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous Period (Valanginian). It was a sauropod which lived in what i ...

'', '' Soriatitan'', and ''

Venenosaurus ''Venenosaurus'' ( ) was a sauropod dinosaur. The name literally means "poison lizard", and it was named so after the Poison Strip Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah, United States, where the fossils were discovered by a Denver Museum ...

''.

References

Macronarians Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe Barremian life Cretaceous Spain Fossils of Spain Fossil taxa described in 2008 {{Sauropodomorph-stub