Phuwiangosaurus was first named as a titanosaurid dinosaur in 1994, and was the first named sauropod dinosaur known to have come from Thailand. The name Phuwiangosaurus translates as ‘Phu Wiang lizard’ and is a reference to the district of Phu Wiang District of Thailand. The species name P. sirindhornae was in honour of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand.
The problem with the first specimen of Phuwiangosaurus was that although it was articulated, it only represented about ten per cent of the animal, something that left a lot of questions about Phuwiangosaurus unanswered. However, 2009 saw the publication (Suteethorn et al) of a description of a second specimen of Phuwiangosaurus, and this dramatically improved our understanding of this titanosaurid dinosaur. With most of the vertebral column recovered, even if some vertebrae were only partially preserved, the total length of this second specimen was estimated to be about twelve meters long. Phuwiangosaurus was also confirmed to be similar to Nemegtosaurus from Mongolia, something which has now seen Phuwiangosaurus placed within the Nemegtosauridae family of titanosaurs. Altogether this second specimen had approximately sixty per cent of the total remains preserved, something that marks it as one of the best preserved dinosaurs from Thailand, as well as one of the most complete titanosaurs ever found.
The problem with the first specimen of Phuwiangosaurus was that although it was articulated, it only represented about ten per cent of the animal, something that left a lot of questions about Phuwiangosaurus unanswered. However, 2009 saw the publication (Suteethorn et al) of a description of a second specimen of Phuwiangosaurus, and this dramatically improved our understanding of this titanosaurid dinosaur. With most of the vertebral column recovered, even if some vertebrae were only partially preserved, the total length of this second specimen was estimated to be about twelve meters long. Phuwiangosaurus was also confirmed to be similar to Nemegtosaurus from Mongolia, something which has now seen Phuwiangosaurus placed within the Nemegtosauridae family of titanosaurs. Altogether this second specimen had approximately sixty per cent of the total remains preserved, something that marks it as one of the best preserved dinosaurs from Thailand, as well as one of the most complete titanosaurs ever found.
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