Aragosaurus

Ah-rah-gon-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

Aragosaurus ‭(‬Aragon lizard‭).

Phonetic

Ah-rah-gon-sore-us.

Named By

J.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Sanz,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Buscalioni,‭ ‬M.-L.‭ ‬Casanovas and J.-V.‭ ‬Santafe‭ ‬-‭ ‬1987.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Sauropoda.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬ischiaticus‭

Size

Estimated about‭ ‬18‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

Spain,‭ ‬Province of Teruel‭ ‬-‭ ‬El Castellar Formation.

Time Period

Late Hauterivian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skeleton including a femur,‭ ‬Pubis,‭ ‬Ischium,‭ ‬phalanges,‭ ‬scapula,‭ ‬and caudal‭ (‬tail‭) ‬vertebrae.

In Depth

       An early Cretaceous sauropod from Spain,‭ ‬Aragosaurus is considered to have been similar to the North American Camarasaurus in form.‭ ‬This means that the head would have been carried up high to enable Aragosaurus to browse upon the upper branches of trees,‭ ‬which were simply beyond the reach of low browsing dinosaurs.‭ ‬This similarity,‭ ‬compared with other discoveries of genera like Stegosaurus in places like Portugal has also led to the idea that North America and Western Europe were still joined by at least the Late Jurassic,‭ ‬and that a faunal interchange took place between these two continents.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Dinosaurios del Cret�cico inferior de Galve‭ (‬Teruel,‭ ‬Espa�a‭) [‬Dinosaurs from the Lower Cretaceous of Galve‭ (‬Teruel,‭ ‬Spain‭)]‬,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Sanz,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Buscalioni,‭ ‬M.-L.‭ ‬Casanovas and J.-V.‭ ‬Santafe‭ ‬-‭ ‬1987.

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