''Brohisaurus'' 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 ...
of
titanosauriform 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 ...
from the
Late Jurassic, based on largely indeterminate fragments of some ribs, vertebrae, and limb bones. The type and only species, ''B. kirthari'', was described by M. Sadiq Malkani in 2003 and it is currently the only valid genus of dinosaur known from Pakistan to date. The genus name means "Baluchi lizard" and refers to the
Baluchi people who live in the area where it was found. The species name refers to the
Kirthar Mountains
The Kirthar Mountains ( ur, كوه کھیرتھر; sd, کير ٿر جبل) are a mountain range that mark the boundary between the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, and which comprise much of the Kirthar National Park. The mountain ra ...
. The fossils were discovered in the lowest portion of the
Kimmeridgian Sembar Formation from the
Kirthar foldbelt in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
[
]
Description
''Baluchisaurus'', like all sauropod dinosaurs, would have been a large-bodied, long-necked herbivore. Its femur was only 12 cm across.[ The 15 to 20 meter long titanosauriform '' Phuwiangosaurus'', by contrast, had a femur 20 cm in diameter.][
]
Classification
''Brohisaurus'' was originally described as a 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 ...
.[ Malkani suggested it was similar to the early African titanosaur '' Malawisaurus'', arguing that this provided evidence for a biogeographic link between the ]Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
and Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. However, the phylogenetic position of ''Brohisaurus'' is not clear. None of the proposed traits uniting it to Titanosauria are definitive synapomorphies of that clade.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1061780
Macronarians
Kimmeridgian life
Late Jurassic dinosaurs of Asia
Fossils of Pakistan
Fossil taxa described in 2003