Bruhathkayosaurus

large-bodied lizard

• bruhath · Sanskrit · large / huge
• kaya · Sanskrit · body
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines three roots to describe an animal of enormous bodily size. "Bruhath" (बृहत्) and "kaya" (काय) are both Sanskrit words meaning "large" and "body" respectively, reflecting the gigantic proportions inferred for the animal from its remains. The final element, the Greek "sauros," is the standard dinosaur-naming suffix meaning "lizard." Together the name means roughly "large-bodied lizard," chosen because the fragmentary bones found appeared to belong to an exceptionally large sauropod.

Named by

Yadagiri and Ayyasami

Year named

1987

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Kallamedu Formation, Tamil Nadu, India

Bruhathkayosaurus is regarded by most palaeontologists as a nomen dubium. It was described from highly fragmentary material (purported limb and pelvic elements) from the Late Cretaceous Kallamedu Formation of Tamil Nadu, India. The original description classified it as a theropod, but later re-examinations suggested the material might belong to a titanosaur sauropod. Tragically, the type specimens are believed to have been destroyed or lost — possibly washed away by floods — making any re-evaluation impossible. Some size estimates based on the reported dimensions were wildly extrapolated (suggesting an animal larger than Argentinosaurus), but these are considered unreliable given the poor quality and uncertain identification of the material.