Pronunciation: RA-hee-O-lee-SOR-us
Meaning: Rahioli (village) lizard
Author/s: Novas et al. (2010)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Gujarat, India
Discovery Chart Position: #711
Rahiolisaurus gujaratensis
(Rahioli lizard from Gujurat)Etymology
Rahiolisaurus is derived from "Rahioli" (a village in the Indian state of Gujarat where the fossils were found) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, gujaratensis, combines "Gujarat" (the Indian State in which Rahioli Village is located) with the Latin "ensis" (from).
Discovery
The first remains of Rahiolisaurus were discovered in the Lameta Formation at Rahioli village, Kheda District, Gujarat, India, by Chatterjee and Rudra in 1995.
The holotype consists of a right thigh (ISIR 557) and two hip bones: a right ilium (ISIR 550) and a right pubis (ISIR 554). A huge number of referred bones were found in a 50m2 area of the same quarry during fieldwork in 1995 (ISIR 401—433, 435—454) and 1997 (ISIR 464, 465, 474, 475, 486—553, 555, 556, 558—602, 645, 649, 657—660) including vertebrae from the neck, back, hip and tail, portions of shoulder and pelvic girdles, and many hind limb bones, but only a single skull bone, from the right side of the upper jaw (ISIR 401). Based on shin count and size, seven specimens of different growth stages were present at the site.
