Pronunciation:
Meaning: Dry thicket giant
Author/s: Díez Díaz et al. (2020)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Provence, France
Discovery Chart Position: #1036
Garrigatitan meridionalis
(Dry Thicket Giant from the South)Etymology
Garrigatitan is derived from the Occitan "garriga" ("dry thicket", referring to the dense, low-lying
vegetation, particularly drought-resistant shrubs, found in abundance at the Velaux-La Bastide Neuve site) and the Greek "titan" (giant).
The species epithet, meridonalis, means "southern" in Latin, referring to the site location in southern France.
Discovery
The remains of Garrigatitan were discovered in the Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation (Aix-en-Provence Basin) at Velaux-La Bastide Neuve, Bouches-du-Rhône Department of Provence, southern France, during two excavation campaigns by the Palaios Association and the University of Poitiers in 2009 and 2012.
The holotype (MMS / VBN.09.17) is a fused block of hip vertebrae with a piece of pelvic bone (left ilium) attached.
Referred specimens include a neck vertebra (MMS/VBN.02.99), two upper arm bones (MMS/VBN.09.A.016 and MMS/ VBN.09.47), hip bones (MMS/VBN.12B.12a and MMS/ VBN.12B.12b).
Tentatively referred specimens include a rib (MMS/VBN.12B.011), a right upper arm bone (MMS/VBN.12.82), a right lower arm bone (MMS.VBN.09.A.017) and a left thigh (MMS/VBN.00.13).
Another titanosaur, that Géraldine Garcia et al. had named Atsinganosaurus velauciensis in 2010, was also found in this quarry.
