Rocasaurus

Ro-ca-sore-us.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Rocasaurus ‭(‬Roca lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ro-ca-sore-us.

Named By

Leonardo Salgado and Claudia Azpilicueta‭ ‬-‭ ‬2000.‭

Classification

‭ ‬Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropomorpha,‭ ‬Sauropoda.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

R.‭ ‬muniozi‭

Size

About‭ ‬8‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬possibly larger.

Known locations

Argentina,‭ ‬Rio Negro Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Allen Formation.

Time Period

Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains including vertebrae,‭ ‬pubis,‭ ‬ischium and left femur,‭ ‬possibly of‭ ‬a juvenile.

In Depth

       At eight meters long Rocasaurus was actually quite small for a sauropod,‭ ‬though it still would have been one of the larger dinosaurs on the landscapes of late Cretaceous Argentina.‭ ‬However if the holotype is correctly interpreted as that of a juvenile,‭ ‬then adults of the genus would have certainly grown larger.

       Another sauropod from the Allen Formation is Saltasaurus,‭ ‬a genus that Rocasaurus may have come into contact with while pterosaurs like Aerotitan flew overhead.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Un nuevo saltasaurino‭ (‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosauridae‭) ‬de la provincia de R�o Negro‭ (‬Formaci�n Allen,‭ ‬Cret�cico Superior‭)‬,‭ ‬Patagonia,‭ ‬Argentina‭ [‬A new saltasaurine‭ (‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosauridae‭) ‬from R�o Negro province‭ (‬Allen Formation,‭ ‬Upper Cretaceous‭)‬,‭ ‬Patagonia,‭ ‬Argentina,‭ ‬Leonardo Salgado and Claudia Azpilicueta‭ ‬-‭ ‬2000.

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