Brohisaurus

Brohisaurus is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-aged) Sembar Formation of Pakistan. The type species is B. kirthari.

Brohisaurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Sauropoda
Clade:	†Macronaria
Clade:	†Titanosauriformes
Genus:	†Brohisaurus Malkani, 2003
Species:	†B. kirthari
Binomial name
†Brohisaurus kirthari Malkani, 2003

Discovery and naming

The holotype, MSM-86-K to 94-K, 96-K to 98-K, 101-K to 105-K, consisting of largely indeterminate fragments of some ribs, vertebrae, and limb bones, were discovered in the Sembar Formation and were named and described by Muhammad Sadiq Malkani in 2003,^[1] making Brohisaurus the only valid genus of dinosaur known from Pakistan to date, although other informal genera are known.

The genus name means "Baluchi lizard" and refers to the Baluchi people who live in the area where it was found. The species name refers to the Kirthar Mountains.

Description

Brohisaurus, like all sauropod dinosaurs, would have been a large-bodied, long-necked herbivore. Its femur was only 12 cm across.^[1] The 15 to 20 meter long titanosauriform Phuwiangosaurus, by contrast, had a femur 20 cm in diameter.^[2]

Classification

Brohisaurus was originally described as a titanosaur.^[1] Malkani suggested it was similar to the early African titanosaur Malawisaurus, arguing that this provided evidence for a biogeographic link between the Indian subcontinent and Africa. However, the phylogenetic position of Brohisaurus is not clear. None of the proposed traits uniting it to Titanosauria are definitive synapomorphies of that clade.^[3] It does appear to possess at least two synapomorphies of the Titanosauriformes: pneumatic cavities in its thoracic ribs and femora with elliptical cross sections.

References

1. Malkani, M. S. (2003). "First Jurassic dinosaur fossils found from Kirthar range, Khuzdar District, Balochistan, Pakistan" (PDF). Geological Bulletin of the University of Peshawar. 36: 73–83.
2. Martin, V.; Suteethorn, V.; Buffetaut, E. (1999). "Description of the type and referred material of Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae Martin, Buffetaut and Suteethorn, 1994, a sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Thailand". Oryctos. 2: 39–91.
3. Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Barnes, Rosie N.; Mateus, Octávio (2013). "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168: 98–206. doi:10.1111/zoj.12029.