Uriash
Extinct genus of dinosaurs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uriash is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania. The holotype of this genus was originally referred to Magyarosaurus hungaricus, which is now classified in a separate genus, Petrustitan.[1]
| Uriash Temporal range: Maastrichtian, | |
|---|---|
| |
| Femoral fragments from the holotype of U. kadici; right femur (A-D) and left femur (E-F) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Clade: | †Lithostrotia |
| Genus: | †Uriash Díez Díaz et al., 2025 |
| Species: | †U. kadici |
| Binomial name | |
| †Uriash kadici Díez Díaz et al., 2025 | |
Discovery and naming
In 1914, the Hungarian geologist Ottokár Kadić in the Pârâul Budurone ravine near Vălioara, discovered a skeleton of a sauropod which was markedly larger than previously found sauropod remains in the area. In 1916, the discovery, consisting of limb bones and eight vertebrae, was reported in the scientific literature.[2] By 12 January 1927 two vertebrae had been sent to Friedrich von Huene at the University of Tübingen. Von Huene described these in 1932, preliminary referring them to a ?Magyarosaurus hungaricus, presently Petrustitan.[3]
In 2021 the site was rediscovered[4] and only then it was realised that all the bones had belonged to a single animal, "Individual C". It was concluded that it represented a taxon new to science.[1]
In 2025, the type species Uriash kadici was named and described by Verónica Díez Díaz, Philip David Mannion, Zoltán Csiki-Sava and Paul Upchurch. The generic name Uriash references the Romanian word uriaș, the giant in Romanian Folklore, while the specific name kadici references the Hungarian geologist Ottokár Kadić (1876–1957).[1]
Individual C is the holotype. It was found in the lower middle member of the Densuş-Ciula Formation probably dating from the early Maastrichtian. It contains the tail vertebrae SZTFH Ob.3090 B, D, G, H (four vertebrae have been lost), the right humerus SZTFH Ob.3104, the thighbones SZTFH Ob.3103 and the left first metatarsal SZTFH Ob.3095.[1]
Description
Uriash has been estimated to be 8.83–11.87 m (29.0–38.9 ft) long and weigh up to 5–8 t (4.9–7.9 long tons; 5.5–8.8 short tons). It was in 2025 the second largest known European Upper Cretaceous titanosaur, after Abditosaurus.[1]