Name: Argentinosaurus
(Argentina lizard).
Phonetic: Ar-jen-teen-oh-sore-us.
Named By: Jos� Bonaparte & Rodolfo Coria
- 1993.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Antarctosauridae.
Species: A. huinculensis
(type).
Type: Herbivore.
Size: Incomplete material makes sizing difficult.
Estimates range from 22 to 40 meters long, but more commonly around 30 - 35 meters long.
Known locations: Argentina, Huincul Formation.
Time period: Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Only a few bones including,
vertebrae, sacrum, ribs and right tibia.
Argentinosaurus
may well be the largest sauropod
and by extension, dinosaur ever to
live. Unfortunately only a few parts of the skeleton has been found
so these have had to be compared with other more complete skeletons of
different yet similar dinosaurs, with the closest match possibly
being other titanosaurs such as Saltasaurus
and Rapetosaurus.
This has
allowed for what are considered to be more accurate estimates for
Argentinosaurus, but the exact size is still
uncertain. Until more
fossils of Argentinosaurus that fill the existing
gaps can be found,
we may never know the exact size for sure. One dinosaur that might
actually have been much bigger than even Argentinosaurus
is the
potentially colossal Amphicoelias.
South
America seems to have been an evolutionary cradle for dinosaurs.
While the other great sauropods such as Brachiosaurus
and Diplodocus
died out by the end of the Jurassic, the large South American
sauropods like Argentinosaurus continued until well
into the
Cretaceous.
Argentinosaurus
was not the only giant dinosaur to hail from South America, the large
theropod carnivore Giganotosaurus
that was larger than Tyrannosaurus,
was also active at the same time and general location as
Argentinosaurus.
Further reading
- Un nuevo y gigantesco sauropodo titanosaurio de la Formacion Rio
Limay (Albiano-Cenomaniano) de la Provincia del Neuquen, Argentina [A
new and huge titanosaur sauropod from the Rio Limay Formation
(Albian-Cenomanian) of Neuqu�n Province, Argentina] - J. Bonaparte
& R. Coria - 1993.
- Big Sauropods - Really, Really Big Sauropods - Gregory S. Paul - 1994.
- Giants and Bizarres: Body Size of Some Southern South American
Cretaceous Dinosaurs- Gerardo V. Mazzetta, Per Christiansen &
Richard A. Fari�a - 2004.
- Reinterpretation of the dorsal vertebrae of Argentinosaurus
huinculensis (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae). Ameghiniana. 43
(4): 48–49R.
- F. E. Novas & M. Ezcurra - 2006.