Dino Wiki
Dino Wiki / All dinos / Long-necks
Cartoon of Aeolosaurus
Dino card No. 0031 of 2,027

Aeolosaurus

Say it: AY-oh-lo-SORE-us
Name means: “Aeolus lizard, named after Aeolus, the keeper of the winds in Greek mythology”6
Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Aeolosaurus was a huge, long-necked plant eater that lived in South America near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It walked on four sturdy legs and probably used its long neck to reach leaves high in the trees.6

Lived
84 to 66 million years ago6
Late Cretaceous
Fossils found in
Fossils have been found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, in places like the Allen, Los Alamitos, Angostura Colorada, and Bajo Barreal formations in Argentina, and the Adamantina and Marilia formations in Brazil.16
Food
Plants6
Length
10 to 100 m2
PBDB gives a broad adult length range of 10 to less than 100 metres, which is an estimate
Weight
6 tonnes to 14.7 tonnes34
Estimates for A. rionegrinus: 6 tonnes (Gregory S. Paul) and 14.7 tonnes (Molina-Pérez & Larramendi, 2020)
Height
10 to 100 m2
PBDB gives a broad adult height range of 10 to less than 100 metres, which is an estimate
Top speed
about 15 km/h (9 mph)
Running, estimate

When did it live?

Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

Aeolosaurus about 100 m longAn elephant, the biggest land animal today about 6.5 mA house about 10 mA swimming pool about 25 mA football pitch about 100 m

How tall was it?

🚪A doorabout 2 m🦒A giraffeabout 5.5 mA house with 2 floorsabout 7 mAeolosaurusabout 100 m tall

PBDB gives a broad adult height range of 10 to less than 100 metres, which is an estimate

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 2.5 elephants
as long as 22 cars parked in a rowas long as 560 bananas end to endas heavy as 10 carsas heavy as 2900 watermelonsas tall as 18 giraffes standing on each other

How big was Aeolosaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Aeolosaurus lived between about 83.6 and 66 million years ago, during the Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous.2

2

It belonged to a group called Aeolosaurini, which is part of the larger titanosaur family. Its closest relatives include Baurutitan, Caieiria, Gondwanatitan, and Panamericansaurus.6

3

Scientists have named two species: Aeolosaurus rionegrinus, the type species, and Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis.6

4

Aeolosaurus fossils have been found in rocks from the Turonian to Santonian ages in central Brazil, which is older than the Campanian-Maastrichtian fossils from Argentina. This shows the genus lived over a long time and a wide area.1

5

The discovery of Aeolosaurus in the Marilia Formation of Brazil shows that this dinosaur survived after a marine incursion flooded parts of northern Patagonia during the Campanian-Maastrichtian.1

6

Aeolosaurus had special bones in its tail: the prezygapophyses (joints) curved downward on the front tail vertebrae, and the haemal arches had double articular facets set in a concave surface. This unique combination helps scientists identify it.6

AI-madeAI-made picture of Aeolosaurus
An AI-made picture of how Aeolosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.
you asked

Most asked questions about Aeolosaurus

?How big was Aeolosaurus?

Estimates vary. Gregory S. Paul said Aeolosaurus rionegrinus was about 14 metres (46 ft) long and weighed 6 tonnes (6.6 short tons). In 2020, Molina-Pérez and Larramendi gave a larger estimate of 18.1 metres (60 ft) and 14.7 tonnes (16.2 short tons).45

?What did Aeolosaurus eat?

Aeolosaurus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. Like other sauropods, it used its long neck to reach leaves high in trees.45

?When did Aeolosaurus live?

Aeolosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, from about 83 to 66 million years ago. Its fossils are found in rocks from the Campanian and Maastrichtian ages.46

?Where was Aeolosaurus found?

Aeolosaurus fossils have been found in Argentina and Brazil. In Argentina, they come from the Allen, Angostura Colorada, Lago Colhué Huapí, and Los Alamitos Formations. In Brazil, they are from the Serra da Galga Formation.45

Ask Rex about Aeolosaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Aeolosaurus was a type of marine reptile because its name sounds like 'Aeolus' from the sea.

Truth: Aeolosaurus was a land-dwelling dinosaur, a sauropod that lived on land and ate plants. It was not a marine reptile.6

For dino experts

Scientific name
Aeolosaurus
Named by
Powell 19876
Group
Long-necks
Family / clade
Aeolosaurini6
Classification
Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria6
Age of the rocks
84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)6
Rock formations
Allen, Lago Colhué Huapi, Angostura Colorada6
Countries
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay6
Fossil records
6 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery
Aeolosaurus was named by J. E. Powell in 1987. The name comes from the Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos in Patagonia, Argentina, where the first fossils were found.6
Still debated
Scientists debate whether Gondwanatitan faustoi is a separate valid genus or a junior synonym of Aeolosaurus. One study says it is valid, but other classifications have placed it as a sister taxon.16

Where the facts come from

  1. Record of the genus Aeolosaurus (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) in the Late Cretaceous of South America: paleogeographic implications (Journal Article) | ETDEWEB (osti.gov)
  2. PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
  3. Aeolosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
  4. Aeolosaurus - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
  5. Aeolosaurus (en.m.wikipedia.org)
  6. Aeolosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex

More from the same group: Long-necks

BrachiosaurusLong-necksDiplodocusLong-necksBrontosaurusLong-necksArgentinosaurusLong-necksCamarasaurusLong-necksMorosaurusLong-necks

Also from the same time: Late Cretaceous

TyrannosaurusTyrannosaursTriceratopsHorned dinosVelociraptorRaptorsSpinosaurusSpinosaursAnkylosaurusArmoured dinosParasaurolophusDuck-bills
Ask RexAI dino helperFeed Rextip jar for grown-ups