Sibirotitan

Sibirotitan was a moderately sized sauropod dinosaur described in 2018 from Early Cretaceous sediments in Western Siberia, Russia. Fossils were recovered along the Kiya River from the Ilek Formation and include articulated cervical, dorsal, and sacral vertebrae alongside foot bones. The species name astrosacralis highlights the distinctive star-shaped arrangement of its sacral ribs in cross-section. Reaching an estimated length of twelve to fifteen metres, Sibirotitan was a somphospondylan, an evolutionary branch of titanosauriforms closely related to true titanosaurs. Its discovery provided vital evidence that diverse sauropod populations persisted in high-latitude Asian regions during the Early Cretaceous.

It was the first valid titanosauriform sauropod formally named from Siberia.

Where and when

Sibirotitan lived in the Early Cretaceous, from 125 to 120 million years ago (Barremian-Aptian age). Its remains come from Russia, in the Ilek Formation.

The numbers

Length 14 m (estimates run from 12 to 15 m). Mass about 9.8 t. Hip height about 3 m. That is 7.9 human-lengths, or 1.21 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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