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Argentinosaurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Titanosauridae
Genus: Argentinosaurus
Binomial name
Argentinosaurus huinculensis
Bonaparte & Coria, 1993
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Argentinosaurus (meaning "Argentina lizard") was a herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that was quite possibly the largest, heaviest land animal that ever lived. It developed on the island continent of South America during the middle of the Cretaceous Period (around 100 million years ago), after all of its more familiar Laurasian Jurassic kin — like Apatosaurus — had long disappeared.
Description
Not much of Argentinosaurus has been recovered: just some back vertebrae, tibia, fragmentary ribs, and sacrum. One vertebra had a length of 1.3 metres and the tibia was about 155 centimetres (58 inches) However, the spectacular proportions of these bones and the familiarity of the species' sauropod relatives allows paleontologists to estimate that full-grown specimens reached some 35 metres (115 feet)in length. Weight was perhaps 80 to 100 tonnes. It is the largest dinosaur that we have good evidence for. However, it would be smaller than Bruhathkayosaurus, which may have reached 44 metres (145 feet) long and weighed 180 tons and the poorly known Amphicoelias fragilmmus which may have been up to 60 meters (200 feet) long. However, these estimates cannot be validated due to lack of evidence.
Vast wings on the vertebrae suited the attachment of massive muscles.
Classification and history
The type species of Argentinosaurus, A. huinculensis, was described and published (by the Argentinian palaeontologists José F. Bonaparte and Rodolfo Coria) in 1993. Its more specific time-frame within the Cretaceous is the Albian to Cenomanian epochs, 112.2 to 93.5 million years ago.
The fossil discovery site is in the Río Limay Formation in Neuquén Province, Argentina. Due to the enormous size of each bone, Rodolfo Coria apparently told National Geographic Magazine, who were covering the event, "God forbid we ever find a complete one."
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