''Rukwatitan'' is a genus of

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 thr ...

sauropod Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their b ...

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

from the

Galula Formation The Galula Formation is a geological formation located south of Lake Rukwa in Tanzania, part of the Red Sandstone Group of the Rukwa Rift Basin. Along with the unconformably overlying Oligocene Nsungwe Formation. It is divided into two members, ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. It lived around 100 million years ago, during the middle

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

. The species, which shared features with another southern African species, '' Malawisaurus dixeyi'', measured from the head to the tip of the tail, and had forelimbs that were estimated around long. Its fossils were found embedded in a cliff face near

Lake Rukwa Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake located in the Rukwa Valley of Rukwa Region, Songwe Region and Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. The lake is the third largest inland body of water in the country. Geography The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies ...

in the

Rukwa Valley The Rukwa Valley is a valley located in Rukwa Region, Songwe Region and Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. The valley is a part of the Great Rift Valley (geographical concept), Great Rift Valley. Sparsely populated because of its harsh envir ...

, from which it gets its name.

References

Lithostrotia Dinosaur genera Albian dinosaurs Fossil taxa described in 2014 Dinosaurs of Tanzania {{Sauropodomorph-stub