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{{Short description|Genus of dicraeosaurid dinosaurs}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Middle Jurassic]], Early-Middle {{fossilrange|Bathonian}}
| image = Tharosaurus (cervical vertebrae).jpg
| image_caption = Cervical vertebrae of the holotype
| parent_authority = Bajpai ''et al''., [[2023 in archosaur paleontology|2023]]
| display_parents =
| genus = Tharosaurus
| species = indicus
| authority = Bajpai ''et al''., 2023
}}

'''''Tharosaurus''''' (meaning "[[Thar desert]] lizard") is an [[extinct]] genus of [[dicraeosaurid]] sauropod dinosaur from the [[Middle Jurassic]] [[Jaisalmer Formation]] of India. The genus contains a [[Monotypic taxon|single species]], '''''T. indicus''''', known from several vertebrae and a rib. ''Tharosaurus'' represents the earliest [[diplodocoid]] currently known and the first described from India.<ref name="Tharosaurus"> {{Cite journal |last1=Bajpai |first1=S. |last2=Datta |first2=D. |last3=Pandey |first3=P. |last4=Ghosh |first4=T. |last5=Kumar |first5=K. |last6=Bhattacharya |first6=D. |year=2023 |title=Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=13 |at=12680 |doi=10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Discovery and naming ==
The ''Tharosaurus'' [[holotype]] specimen, RWR-241 (A–K), was discovered in sediments of the [[Jaisalmer Formation]] near [[Jethwai]] village in [[Jaisalmer district]] of [[Rajasthan]] state in western India. The specimen consists of partial [[Cervical vertebrae|cervical]], [[Dorsal vertebrae|dorsal]], and [[caudal vertebrae]] and a dorsal rib.<ref name=Tharosaurus/>

In 2023, Bajpai ''et al''. [[Species description|described]] ''Tharosaurus indicus'' as a new genus and species of dicraeosaurid sauropod based on these fossil remains. The [[Genus|generic name]], "''Tharosaurus''", combines a reference to the [[Thar desert]] where the holotype was found with the [[Greek language|Greek]] word "sauros", meaning "lizard". The [[Specific name (zoology)|specific name]], "''indicus''", refers to the discovery of the specimen in India.<ref name=Tharosaurus/>

== Classification ==
Bajpai ''et al''. (2023) recovered ''Tharosaurus'' as an early-diverging dicraeosaurid, suggesting it represents a relic of a lineage that evolved in India and later spread across the world. ''Tharosaurus'' is the oldest dicraeosaurid, as well as the oldest [[diplodocoid]]. The results of their [[phylogenetic analyses]] are shown in the cladogram below:<ref name=Tharosaurus />

{{clade
|{{clade
|1=[[Rebbachisauridae]] <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Xenoposeidon Rebachisaurid 2017.jpg|70px]]</div>
|label2=[[Flagellicaudata]]
|2={{clade
|1=[[Diplodocidae]] <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Diplodocus carnegii.jpg|70px]]</div>
|label2=[[Dicraeosauridae]]
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Suuwassea]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Lingwulong]]'' [[File:Lingwulong UDL.png|70px]]
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Bajadasaurus]]'' [[File:Bajadasaurus SW.png|70px]]
|2={{clade
|1='''''Tharosaurus'''''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Pilmatueia]]''
|2=''[[Amargatitanis]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Amargatitanis LM.png|70px]]</div>
|3={{clade
|1=''[[Brachytrachelopan]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Dicraeosaurus hansemanni]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Dicraeosaurus hansemanni22.jpg|70px]]</div>
|2=''[[Amargasaurus]]'' <div style="{{MirrorH}}">[[File:Amargasaurus NT small.jpg|70px]]</div>
}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}|label1=[[Diplodocoidea]]}}

== Paleoenvironment ==
The Jaisalmer Formation represents a deposit on the [[Tethys Sea|Tethyan]] coast of India. Other dinosaurs from this environment include a large theropod and a [[turiasaur]], both known only from teeth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=A. |last2=Hendrickx |first2=C. |last3=Singh |first3=S. |title=First theropod record from the Marine Bathonian of Jaisalmer Basin, Tethyan Coast of Gondwanan India |year=2023 |journal=Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia |volume=129 |issue=1 |pages=49–64 |doi=10.54103/2039-4942/18306 |s2cid=256347914}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Sharma A, Singh S, Satheesh SR |title=The first turiasaurian sauropod of India reported from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) sediments of Jaisalmer Basin, Rajasthan, India |journal=Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen |year=2022 |volume=304 |issue=2 |pages=187–203 |doi=10.1127/njgpa/2022/1064 |s2cid=249030842 }}</ref> Several [[ichnofossil]]s are also known from the formation.<ref name=Ichno08>{{Cite journal |last1=Kulkarni |first1=Kantimati |last2=Borkar |first2=Vidyadhar D. |last3=Dashputre |first3=Tejashree |title=Ichnofossils from the Fort Member (Middle Jurassic), Jaisalmer Formation, Rajasthan |year=2008 |journal=Journal of the Geological Society of India |volume=71 |issue=5 |pages=731–738 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261263004_Ichnofossils_from_the_Fort_Member_Middle_Jurassic_Jaisalmer_Formation_Rajasthan}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Sauropodomorpha|D.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q121179093}}

[[Category:Dicraeosaurids]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2023]]
[[Category:Bathonian life]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs of India and Madagascar]]
[[Category:Jurassic India]]
[[Category:Fossils of India]]

Tharosaurus - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article