The Dinosaurs - Iuticosaurus, an Isle of Wight Titanosaurid

Iuticosaurus,

an Isle of Wight Titanosaurid

(pronounced Yoo-TIE-ko-SAW-russ)

Meaning

Jute reptile

Length

15-20 metres (49- 65 feet)

Classification

Sauropoda,
Titanosauria Bonaparte and Coria, 1993

‘Iuticosaurus valdensis’ (Huene, 1929)

Locations

Two of the specimens are known from the Wessex formation at Brook bay. Unfortunately, the best specimen had no locality data recorded for it, but it is possible it also came from Brook Bay.

Iuticosaurus is only known from three incomplete caudal vertebrae, of which only one is well preserved. This specimen, in the collections of the Natural History Museum, includes part of the neural arch and its postzygapothyses

The caudal centrum exhibits a posterior ridge on the lateral face connected to a flattened region on the dorsal surface of the centrum posterior to the neural arch. The centrum is procoelus (the front surface is concave and the back end is convex), and the neural arch is positioned towards the front, both being defining features of titanosaurs.

Material is rare, so please report it if you find some…

LE LOEUFF, J. (1993). European titanosaurids. Revue de Paléobiologie, Volume Spéciale 7:105-117

NAISH, D. and MARTILL, D. M. 2001d. Saurischian dinosaurs 1: sauropods. In MARTILL, D. M. and NAISH, D (eds). Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight. The Palaeontological Association. Field Guide to Fossils 10. 185-.241

UPCHURCH, P., MANNION, P. D. & BARRETT, P. M. 2011. Sauropod dinosaurs. In BATTEN, D. J. (ed.) English Wealden Fossils. The Palaeontological Association (London), pp. 476-525.