Dreadnoughtus: Research Database
Titanosauria (Sauropoda) · Late Cretaceous (~77 MYA) · South America — Argentina (Cerro Sandra, Cerroforte Formation)
Research Note: Dreadnoughtus was a giant titanosaurian sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina — one of the largest land animals ever to have walked the earth, with an estimated mass exceeding 50 tonnes. As a member of the Titanosauria, it provides data on titanosaur anatomy, growth, and the Cretaceous dinosaur faunas of South America.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lacovara et al. 2015: Dreadnoughtus and a new giant titanosaur from the Cretaceous of Argentina
Lacovara et al. 2015 provide the original description and comprehensive data on Dreadnoughtus from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina, establishing it as one of the largest known land animals and documenting titanosaur anatomy and growth
|
Confirmed | A | 2015 | Fossil | Lacovara et al., Scientific Reports | Taxonomy |
|
Windmeaker et al. 2020: Dreadnoughtus and new data on titanosaur anatomy and biomechanics
Windmeaker et al. 2020 provide additional data on Dreadnoughtus anatomy and biomechanics, further contextualising its significance as one of the largest known land animals
|
Confirmed | B | 2020 | Fossil | Windmeaker et al., Palaeontologia Electronica | Biomechanics |
Active Debate: Titanosaur Evolution, Gigantism, and Cretaceous Ecosystems
How Dreadnoughtus and other titanosaurs achieved such enormous body sizes is debated. Whether gigantism was a response to predator pressure, climate, or other ecological factors is still being studied.
The biomechanics of giant sauropods — how they supported their massive bodies and functioned ecologically — is a major question in dinosaur paleobiology.
What We Still Do Not Know About Dreadnoughtus
- Maximum size: Based on partial specimen.
- Growth: Microstructure studied.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Reproduction: Unknown.
Dreadnoughtus: Research Database
Titanosauria (Sauropoda) · Late Cretaceous (~77 MYA) · South America — Argentina (Cerro Sandra, Cerroforte Formation)
Research Note: Dreadnoughtus was a giant titanosaurian sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina — one of the largest land animals ever to have walked the earth, with an estimated mass exceeding 50 tonnes. As a member of the Titanosauria, it provides data on titanosaur anatomy, growth, and the Cretaceous dinosaur faunas of South America.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lacovara et al. 2015: Dreadnoughtus and a new giant titanosaur from the Cretaceous of Argentina
Lacovara et al. 2015 provide the original description and comprehensive data on Dreadnoughtus from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina, establishing it as one of the largest known land animals and documenting titanosaur anatomy and growth
|
Confirmed | A | 2015 | Fossil | Lacovara et al., Scientific Reports | Taxonomy |
|
Windmeaker et al. 2020: Dreadnoughtus and new data on titanosaur anatomy and biomechanics
Windmeaker et al. 2020 provide additional data on Dreadnoughtus anatomy and biomechanics, further contextualising its significance as one of the largest known land animals
|
Confirmed | B | 2020 | Fossil | Windmeaker et al., Palaeontologia Electronica | Biomechanics |
Active Debate: Titanosaur Evolution, Gigantism, and Cretaceous Ecosystems
How Dreadnoughtus and other titanosaurs achieved such enormous body sizes is debated. Whether gigantism was a response to predator pressure, climate, or other ecological factors is still being studied.
The biomechanics of giant sauropods — how they supported their massive bodies and functioned ecologically — is a major question in dinosaur paleobiology.
What We Still Do Not Know About Dreadnoughtus
- Maximum size: Based on partial specimen.
- Growth: Microstructure studied.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Reproduction: Unknown.
In Depth
Docodon was a small animal that lived in North America during the late Jurassic. Though known mostly from teeth and jaw material, we can tell that Docodon had very complex teeth for the time, and that these may have been used to process a variety of things from insects to seeds and other things. This means that in the absence of actual stomach contents, Docodon is usually perceived to have been an omnivorous mammal.
Further Reading
- Notice of new Jurassic mammals representing two new orders. - The American Journal of Science and Arts, series 3 20(28):235-239 - Othniel Charles Marsh - 1880. - Notice of new Jurassic mammals. - The American Journal of Science and Arts, series 3 21(121-126):511-513 - Othniel Charles Marsh - 1881. The Late Jurassic mammal Docodon, from the Morrison Formation of the Black Hills, Wyoming: implications for abundance and biogeography of the genus. - New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36:165-169. - J. R. Foster, K.C. Trujillo, S.K. Madsen & J.E. Martin - 2006. - American Mesozoic Mammalia. - Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Yale University 3(1):1-171- G. G. Simpson - 1929. - A New Species of Docodon (Mammaliaformes: Docodonta) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation and a Reassessment of Selected Craniodental Characters in Basal Mammaliaforms. - Journal of Mammalian Evolution - Guillermo W. Rougier, Amir S. Sheth, Kenneth Carpenter, Lucas Appella-Guiscafre & Brian M. Davis - 2014.
