Argentinosaurus
Ar-jen-teen-oh-sore-us
Name meaning: Argentine lizard
Time Period:Cenomanian to Turonian (Late Cretaceous)
Locations: Argentina-Huincul Formation
Taxonomy: Sauropoda-Titanosauria-Lognkosauridae
Subspecies: A. huinculensis
Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~
A giant among titanosaurs Argentinosaurus is a sauropod that impresses from its sheer size alone. Argentinosaurus estimates can reach up to 35m in length and 80 tons, That's heavier than 13 African Elephants. Argentinosaurus is widely considered to be the largest animal to walk the earth, other sauropods with fragmentary remains and dubious measurement techniques have been estimated to be larger, but Argentinosaurus has enough reliable material to hold that title definitively. Its main predator is the carcharodontosaurid Mapusaurus, the earth lizard. Argentinosaurus eggs hatched into babies that were over a meter long at birth and would grow rapidly unless picked of by any of the numerous predators. Believed to reach sexual maturity at 8-10 years and become fully grown by 20 at which point they were essentially invincible. Argentinosaurus grew so large to defend themselves from predators, as predators got bigger to hunt sauropods, they got bigger in response, fueling the largest evolutionary war this planet has ever seen.
History & Fosils ~ ~ ~ ~
Agentinosaurus was discovered in 1987 on a farm by Plaza Huincul giving its species name huinculensis. Originally found by an exposed Fibula that was so large it was believed to be a petrified log. Argentinosaurus skeleton displays can be Fernbank Museum of Natural History Museo Municipal of Carmen Funes and Museum of Koenig Bonn Germany
Media Deptictions ~ ~ ~ ~
Prehistoric Kingdom
Extras: ~ ~ ~ ~
Argentinosaurus Huinculensis by Nobilis 2 on Sketchfab
