''Phuwiangosaurus'' (meaning "Phu Wiang lizard") 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 n ...

titanosaur Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still th ...

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 ...

from the Early

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

(

Valanginian In the geologic timescale, the Valanginian is an age or stage of the Early or Lower Cretaceous. It spans between 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma and 132.9 ± 2.0 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretac ...

Hauterivian The Hauterivian is, in the geologic timescale, an age in the Early Cretaceous Epoch or a stage in the Lower Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 132.9 ± 2 Ma and 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Hauterivian is preceded by t ...

)

Sao Khua Formation The Sao Khua Formation () is a middle member of the Khorat Group. It consists of an alteration of pale red to yellowish-gray, fine to medium-grained sandstone and grayish-reddish brown siltstone and clay. Rare pale red to light gray conglomerates ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. 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 specimen( ...

, ''P. sirindhornae'', was described by Martin, Buffetaut, and Suteethorn in a 1993 press release and was formally named in 1994. The species was named to honor

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, The Princess Royal and Princess Debaratana Rajasuda ( th, มหาจักรีสิรินธร, ; ; born April 2, 1955), formerly Princess Sirindhorn Debaratanasuda Kitivadhanadulsobhak ( th, สมเ ...

, who was interested in the

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

and

palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

of Thailand, while the genus was named after the

Phu Wiang Phu Wiang ( th, ภูเวียง) is a short, relatively isolated mountain range in the Khorat Plateau of Northeastern Thailand, today within the area of Khon Kaen Province. It is best known as the site of the discovery of dinosaur fossils ...

area, where the fossil was discovered. Sao_Khua_Formation_V2

In 2010

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

gave a length of 19 meters (62 ft) and a weight of 17 tonnes (18.7 short tons). In 2012

Holtz Holtz is the surname of: * Alexander Holtz (born 2002), Swedish ice hockey player * Andrew Holtz, American journalist * Carl Holtz (1920–2006), American oarsman and farmer * Daniel Holtz, a fictional character on the TV series ''Angel'' * Eric ...

gave a higher estimation of 25 meters (82 ft). ''Phuwiangosaurus'' was originally assigned to

Titanosauria Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thr ...

, but more recent studies have placed it in a more

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

position within the Titanosauriformes. Phylogenetic analyses presented by D'Emic (2012), Mannion ''et al.'' (2013), and Mocho ''et al.'' (2014) resolve ''Phuwiangosaurus'' within the

Euhelopodidae Euhelopodidae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs of disputed membership and affinities, which contains ''Euhelopus'' and its close relatives. Most proposed euhelopodids are from East Asia. Euhelopodidae was first recognized by Carl Wiman in 1929, ...

, alongside genera such as ''

Euhelopus ''Euhelopus'' is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived between 145 and 133 million years ago during the Berriasian and Valanginian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Shandong Province in China. It was a large quadrupedal herbivore. ...

'' and ''

Tangvayosaurus ''Tangvayosaurus'' (meaning "Tang Vay lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian-Albian age Lower Cretaceous Gres superieurs Formation of Savannakhet Province, Laos. It was a basal somphospondylan, about 15 m long, and is kn ...

''. Other analyses have failed to find support for such a grouping, including some finding it to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

at the base of Somphospondyli.

References

Macronarians Early Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Cretaceous Thailand Fossils of Thailand Fossil taxa described in 1994 Taxa named by Éric Buffetaut Taxa named by Varavudh Suteethorn {{Sauropodomorph-stub