Pronunciation:
Meaning: Yamana lizard
Author/s: Apesteguía et al. (2019)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Loja Province, Ecuador
Discovery Chart Position: #999
Yamanasaurus lojaensis
(Yamana lizard from Loja)Etymology
Yamanasaurus is derived from "Yamana" (the location of the fossil site) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, lojaensis, means "from Loja" in Latin.
Discovery
The remains of Yamanasaurus were discovered in the Río Playas Formation near Yamana in the Casanga Valley, 18.8 Km from Catacocha Town in the Paltas Cantón, Loja Province, Ecuador, in 1995 by Tarquino Efraín Celi Bravo, son of Víctor Francisco Celi Ríos and Corisandra Bravo, who preserved them until recent years. The material eventually found its way to two different institutions via Mr. Marco Antonio Paladines Balcázar.
The holotype consists of two fused hip vertebrae (YM-124 UTPL_002) stored at the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja and a fragment of tail vertebra (YM-INPC-014), the top half of two lower arm bones (YM- INPC-016 and YM- INPC-015), and a very eroded fragment, possibly part of an arm or leg (YM- INPC-017), stored at the Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural.
