Katepensaurus ("hole lizard") is an extinct genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of south-central Chubut Province of central Patagonia, Argentina. It contains a single species, Katepensaurus goicoecheai.
Katepensaurus ("hole lizard") is an extinct genus of rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of south-central Chubut Province of central Patagonia, Argentina. It contains a single species, Katepensaurus goicoecheai.
==Fossil record== thumb|Skeletal restoration of the holotype The holotype and only known specimen of Katepensaurus goicoecheai is UNPSJB-PV 1007, a partial skeleton from the Lower Member of the Bajo Barreal Formation of Chubut Province, Argentina. The specimen preserves one skull bone (a frontal), three cervical vertebrae, six dorsal vertebrae, five caudal vertebrae, and several difficult-to-identify fragments, which probably include portions of additional vertebrae as well as possible fragments of some limb bones (a metacarpal or metatarsal and an astragalus). It represents an individual that was at least seven years old and had not finished growing when it died. The Lower Member of the Bajo Barreal Formation is considered to date to the Cenomanian or Turonian age of the early Late Cretaceous. Additional rebbachisaurid specimens from the Bajo Barreal Formation have been described, including a cervical vertebra (UNPSJB-PV 1005), an isolated caudal vertebra (UNPSJB-PV 580), and a partial tail consisting of four incomplete caudal vertebrae and two chevrons (UNPSJB-PV 1004). It is possible that these specimens also belong to Katepensaurus, although the available evidence is insufficient to determine their affinities more precisely than Rebbachisauridae. Remains of a rebbachisaurid taxon distinct from Katepensaurus have been found in the Bajo Barreal Formation, and it is possible that these specimens belong to this other unnamed species.
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