Dino card No. 1583 of 2,027

Saraikimasoom

Say it: suh-rye-kee-MAH-soom

Name means: “Saraiki innocent”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Saraikimasoom was a small, stocky long-necked dinosaur that lived about 72 to 66 million years ago in what is now Pakistan. It had a small skull, a long neck, a round body, and short legs, making it one of the smallest titanosaurs ever found in the Indo-Pakistan region.2 1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Pakistan (Balochistan), in the Vitakri Formation2 2

Food

Plants2 1

Length

8 to 10 m1

estimated from partial skull and other bones

Weight

5 tonnes1

Height

2 m1

estimated

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

estimated

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 3 cars

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 56 bananas end to endabout as heavy as an elephantas heavy as 1000 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Saraikimasoom compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Saraikimasoom had a very small skull, only about 15 to 18 centimeters long and 7 to 9 centimeters high, which is tiny for a dinosaur of its size.1

Its teeth were small, circular, and slightly curved, and they tapered gradually from base to tip, unlike some other titanosaurs whose teeth were more uniform.1

The skull's upper and lower tooth rows were U-shaped, which is a feature shared with its close relative Gspsaurus, but unlike Gspsaurus, the lower tooth row was also U-shaped.1

It had a dental formula of 4, 13/9 to 13, meaning it had 4 premaxillary teeth, 13 maxillary teeth, and 9 to 13 dentary teeth on each side.1

Saraikimasoom is the smallest titanosaur known from the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, and it was a stocky animal with a round body and short legs.1

Its tail vertebrae were procoelous (hollow in front), except for the first one which was biconvex, a feature that helps scientists classify it as a titanosaur.1

The name Saraikimasoom comes from the Saraiki language, where 'masoom' means innocent, and the species name 'vitakri' honors the Vitakri Formation where it was found.1

AI-made picture of Saraikimasoom — An AI-made picture of how Saraikimasoom might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Saraikimasoom

?How big was Saraikimasoom?

About 8 to 10 metres long, 2 metres tall at the hip, and weighed around 5 tonnes. That is roughly the length of a school bus.1

?Was Saraikimasoom a dinosaur?

Yes, it was a small, stocky sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous.1 3

?What did Saraikimasoom eat?

It was a plant-eater. Its small, conical teeth were good for stripping leaves and soft plants.1

?When did Saraikimasoom live?

It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the very end of the Cretaceous Period.3

?Where was Saraikimasoom found?

Its fossils were discovered in the Vitakri Formation of Balochistan, Pakistan.1 3

?Is Saraikimasoom the smallest titanosaur?

It is the smallest titanosaur known from the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, but scientists are not sure if it is the smallest of all titanosaurs.1

?Why is it called Saraikimasoom?

The name comes from the Saraiki language of Pakistan, where 'masoom' means innocent. The species name 'vitakri' honors the Vitakri Formation where it was found.1

?Did Saraikimasoom have feathers?

No, it did not have feathers. It was a sauropod dinosaur, and sauropods are not known to have had feathers.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think all titanosaurs were giant, but Saraikimasoom was actually quite small for a titanosaur.

Truth: Saraikimasoom was about 8 to 10 meters long and weighed about 5 tons, which is small compared to giants like Argentinosaurus, but still big compared to a car.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Saraikimasoom
Named by: Malkani 20143
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Gspsauridae3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Vitakri3
Countries: Pakistan3
Fossil records: 12 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Saraikimasoom was first described by M. S. Malkani in 2014, based on a partial skull and other bones found in the Vitakri Formation of Balochistan, Pakistan. The type specimen is stored in the museum of the Geological Survey of Pakistan in Quetta.2 1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Saraikimasoom belongs in its own family, Gspsauridae, or if it is a more primitive titanosaur, and some details of its skull and teeth are still being studied.2 1

Where the facts come from

Smallest Titanosaur from Indo-Pakistan Landmass (scirp.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Saraikimasoom in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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