''Atsinganosaurus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

ian

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 bo ...

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 ...

which existed in what is now

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the late Cretaceous period. Well-preserved remains (and the only known) of ''Atsinganosaurus'' were collected from the Grès à Reptiles Formation of the Aix-en-Provence Basin. ''Atsinganosaurus'' was first described by Géraldine Garcia, Sauveur Amico, Francois Fournier, Eudes Thouand and Xavier Valentin in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and the type and only species is ''Atsinganosaurus velauciensis''. The generic name is derived from the Greek word "τσιγγάνος" or "αθίγγανος", both meaning "gypsy", which refers to the possible migration from east to west of the species. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

is named after its finding place, Velaux - La Bastide Neuve. A 2018 cladistic analysis of Titanosauria places ''Ampelosaurus'', ''Atsinganosaurus'', and ''Lirainosaurus'' in the new lithostrotian clade Lirainosaurinae. New estimates suggest that adults reached long, possibly up to long for the largest individuals, and a body mass of .Verónica Díez Díaz; Géraldine Garcia; Xabier Pereda Suberbiola; Benjamin Jentgen-Ceschino; Koen Stein; Pascal Godefroit; Xavier Valentin (2018). The titanosaurian dinosaur Atsinganosaurus velauciensis (Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern France: New material, phylogenetic affinities, and palaeobiogeographical implications. Cretaceous Research. in press. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.06.015.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132760 Titanosaurs Maastrichtian life Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of Europe Cretaceous France Fossils of France Fossil taxa described in 2010