a plant-eating titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Pakistan.
Pronunciation: MAH-ree-SOR-us
Meaning: Mari lizard
Author/s: Malkani (
2006)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Balochistan, western Pakistan
Discovery Chart Position: #590
Marisaurus jeffi
(Jeffery Wilson's Mari lizard)Etymology
Marisaurus is derived from "Mari" (for the Mari tribes of the Sulaiman range) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The
species epithet,
jeffi, honors paleontologist Dr. Jeffery A. Wilson "for verifying the ideas of author regarding first biconvex caudal of Saltasaurids dinosaur from Pakistan" (sic).
Discovery
The remains of
Marisaurus were discovered at the Mari Bohri locality (DL-15) in the Vitakri member of the Pab
Formation, Barkhan District, Balochistan Province, Pakistan, by a team of palaeontologists from the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in 2001.
The
holotype (MSM-7-15 and MSM-29-15 to MSM-33-15) consists of the first tail (caudal) vertebrae and five fragmentary tail vertebrae that "seem associated".
A "stocky" shin (MSM-73-16) and a pair of calf bones (MSM-76-16 and MSM-77-16) were assigned to
Marisaurus by Malkani in 2009,
link followed by some armour plates from the Top Kinwa Locality in 2010.
link
Two lots of skull bones (MSM-79-19 and MSM-80-19) that were referred to
Marisaurus by Malkani in 2006 were renamed
Gspsaurus pakistani by Malkani in 2014, and assigned to yet another Pakistan-exclusive titanosaur family: Gspsauridae.
link
• Malkani MS (2003) "Discovery of Partial Skull and Dentary of Titanosauria (Sauropo dinosaur) from the Late Cretaceous Pab Formation of Vitakri area, Barkhan district, Balochistan, Pakistan".
Geol. Bull.
Univ. Peshawar, 36: 65-71.
• Malkani MS (2006) "Biodiversity of saurischian dinosaurs from the Latest Cretaceous Park of Pakistan".
Journal of Applied and Emerging Sciences, 1(3): 108-140, April, 2006.
• Malkani MS (2009) "
New Balochisaurus (Balochisauridae, Titanosauria, Sauropoda) and Vitakridrinda (Theropoda) remains from Pakistan".
Sindh University Research Journal, 41(2): 65-92.
• Malkani MS (2010) "Osteoderms of Pakisauridae and Balochisauridae (Titanosauria, Sauropoda, Dinosauria) in Pakistan".
Journal of Earth Science, 21(Sp. Iss. 3): 198-203.
• Malkani MS (2014) "Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs from the Latest Cretaceous of Pakistan".
Abstract volume: 2nd Symposium of International Geoscience Program 608 (IGCP 608) "Cretaceous Ecosystem of Asia and Pacific". September 04-06, 2014, Tokyo, Japan, 108-111.
Time stands still for no man, and research is ongoing. If you spot an error, or want to expand, edit or add a dinosaur, please use
this form. Go
here to contribute to our FAQ.
All dinos are GM free, and no herbivores were eaten during site construction!
To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
MARISAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
‹
http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/MARISAURUS›. Web access: 06th Mar 2026.
