Jobaria tiguidensis

Jobaria was a relatively large primitive sauropod dinosaur with a rather short neck; it reached lengths of around 21 m (69 ft). It was discovered in the fall of 1997 during an expedition to Niger's Sahara Desert, led by palaeontologist Paul Sereno. It was first suggested that Jobaria lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, however later studies show that it lived during the Middle Jurassic Period. A juvenile Jobaria discovered at the site in Niger yielded tooth marks on the ribs, suggesting the specimen was preyed upon, perhaps by the dinosaur Afrovenator.

Name

Jobaria tiguidensis

Authority

Sereno, Beck, Dutheil, Larsson, Lyon, Moussa, Sadleir, Sidor, Varricchio, Wilson G. P. & Wilson, J. A. 1999

Meaning of generic name

Jobar-, Jobar (Tamacheck); -ia, pertaining to (Greek). Named after the mythical creature Jobar, to whom local Touregs had attributed the exposed bones.

[Meaning they thought people had seen Jobarias, how do we know they were wrong?]

Meaning of specific name

Tiguidi- (Tamacheck); -ensis, [originating ]from (Latin) after the Falaise de Tiguidi, a cliff near the base of which lie the horizons yielding all of its remains.

Size

Length: 21 m, Skull length:

[Unknown, i.e. skull missing, i. e. the Touareg’s can’t be proven wrong about Jobar by exposing them to vastly different skull.]

Remains

Holotype (MNN TIG3): Partial articulated skeleton including the axis, forelimbs and hind limbs, pubes, and most of the tail.

Referred materials: Several partial skeletons and isolated bones.

Age and Distribution

Horizon: Tiourarén Formation. Middle Jurassic (Bathonian-Oxfordian). Locality: Tamerát, Niger.

Classification

D inosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Diplodocoidea

Further Reading

P. C. Sereno, A. L. Beck, D. B. Dutheil, H. C. E. Larsson, G. H. Lyon, B. Moussa, R. W. Sadleir, C. A. Sidor, D. J. Varricchio, G. P. Wilson, and J. A. Wilson. 1999. Cretaceous sauropods from the Sahara and the uneven rate of skeletal evolution among dinosaurs. Science 286:1342-1347.

Synonyms

Rebbachisaurus tamesnensis Lapparent, 1960

Image

March 2, 2013 by Nobu Tamura