Traukutitan

Traukutitan's name comes from Trauku, a mountain spirit in the Araucanian mythology, and the Greek word titan, meaning giant.1

The species name eocaudata means 'dawn tail' in Greek and Latin, because its middle tail bones look like those of early titanosaurs.1

Its fossils include both thigh bones and thirteen vertebrae from the front and middle of the tail.1

Traukutitan lived during the Santonian age, about 85 to 83 million years ago.2

The middle tail vertebrae of Traukutitan are wider than they are long, and have a flat back surface instead of a rounded one.1

Scientists think Traukutitan might be a member of a group called Lognkosauria, which includes other giant titanosaurs.1

The first fossils of Traukutitan were found in the Bajo de la Carpa Formation in northern Patagonia.1