Pronunciation: ruk-wah-TI-tuhn
Meaning: Rukwa giant
Author/s: Gorscak et al. (2014)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Rukwa, Tanzania
Discovery Chart Position: #878
Rukwatitan bisepultus
(Twice-buried Rukwa giant)Etymology
Rukwatitan is derived from "Rukwa" (for Lake Rukwa and the Rukwa rift basin) and the Greek "titan" (giant). The species epithet, bisepultus, means "twice buried" in Latin, in reference to the specimen first being buried in a flood plain alongside a river (indicated by fine clays and muds), and then portions being torn off by a short-lived river channel that cut a swathe through the mud and carried them a short distance where they were buried again (indicated by sandstones).
ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:311B20DA-EB04-4D1A-B0A9-07F853E52F2C.
Discovery
The remains of Rukwatitan were discovered in the middle Namba Member of the Galula Formation (Red Sandstone Group), 25 km south of Lake Rukwa, Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania, by J. J. W. Sertich on June 9, 2007.
The holotype (RRBP 07409) is a partial skeleton including three neck vertebrae, the partial arch of back vertebra, nine tail vertebrae, two chevrons, multiple partial ribs, a partial shoulder girdle, a left upper arm, a partial right lower arm, and a couple of hip bones.
