Pronunciation: TRAW-cu-TIE-tuhn
Meaning: Trauku giant
Author/s: Juárez Valieri and Calvo (2011)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Neuquén, Argentina
Discovery Chart Position: #757
Traukutitan eocaudata
(Trauku Giant with a Primitive Tail)Etymology
Traukutitan is derived from "Trauku" (the Araucanian mountain spirit, usually depicted as a giant) and the Greek "titan" (for the giant pre-Olympian deities).The species epithet, eocaudata, is derived from the Greek "eos" (dawn) and the Latin "cauda" (tail), in reference to the primitive structural characteristics of its tail vertebrae.
Discovery
The remains of Traukutitan were discovered in the Lowermost section of the Bajo de la Carpa Formation (Río Colorado Subgroup, Neuquén Group) at Sitio Trauku, on
the northern coast of Los Barreales Lake, North Patagonia, Argentina, by a field crew from the Museo de Ciencias Naturales of the Universidad Nacional del Comahue in 1990. The holotype (MUCPv 204) is a partial semi-articulated skeleton including both thigh bones and thirteen tail vertebrae. A partial hip bone (pubis) was mentioned as part of the holotype in the orignal description in 1993, but has gone AWOL from the repository of the Comahue University.
