Pakisaurus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of titanosaur

Titanosaur

Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, which included Saltasaurus and Isisaurus. It includes some of the heaviest creatures ever to walk the earth, such as Argentinosaurus and Paralititan — which some believe have weighed up to 100 tonnes...

ian sauropod from the Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous

The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...

 of Balochistan

Balochistan (Pakistan)

Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...

, western Pakistan. The type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 is P. balochistani, described by M. Sadiq Malkani in 2006, and it is based on

Holotype

A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...

 four tail vertebrae, found in the Maastrichtian

Maastrichtian

The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...

-age Vitakri Member of the Pab Formation

Pab Formation

The Pab Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation in Balochistan, in western Pakistan. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.-Paleofauna:* Vitakridrinda* Pakisaurus* Balochisaurus* Brohisaurus...

. Three additional tail verterbrae have been assigned to it. The author erected the family-level name Pakisauridae for Pakisaurus, but it remains to be seen if this family will receive widespread acceptance.

External links

• Sindh University Research Journal PDF of paper discussing Pakisaurus and other recently-discovered Pakistani dinosaurs
• "Pakisaurus" at DinoData Includes partial description.