Limaysaurus

Limaysaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur in the family Rebbachisauridae that lived during the Early Upper Cretaceous (Lower Cenomanian) in what is now Argentina. The only species is Limaysaurus tessonei.

Limaysaurus tessonei was originally described as Rebbachisaurus tessonei by Jorge Calvo and Leonardo Salgado in 1995. The genus Limaysaurus was first mentioned by Leonardo Salgado and colleagues in 2004. Limaysaurus was named after the Río Limay. The holotype, MUCPv-205, consists of a partial skeleton, including part of the skull, and was found by Lieto Francisco Tessone in 1988; the species name was named after him. This skeleton and another, MUCPv-206, were studied by José Bonaparte. Additional material of Limaysaurus was found between 1995 and 2002 in the Lohan Cura Formation in Neuquén, northwestern Argentina. These so-called "bonebeds" are about 112 million years old.

Limaysaurus was a medium-sized sauropod. Gregory S. Paul (2010) estimated its length to be about 15 m and its weight to be about 7 tons. The neural spines on its back were very high.

Salgado et al (2004) considers Limaysaurus to be a rebbachisaurid. Rebbachisauridae is a basal family of Diplodocoidea and have been found in South America, Europe, and Africa. A cladistic analysis (Salgado et al., 2004) proves a close relationship between Limaysaurus, Rebbachisaurus and Nigersaurus. Withlock (2011) concluded that Limaysaurus was a close relative of Cathartesaura and grouped them into Limaysaurinae. These are a sister taxon to the Nigersaurinae, which includes the genera Nigersaurus, Zapalasaurus, and Demandasaurus. These, with the basal (primitive) genera Rebbachisaurus and Histriasaurus, form the family Rebbachisauridae. The following is a cladogram according to Withlock (2011):