Austroposeidon
Austroposeidon was a giant, long-necked plant eater from Brazil. It was one of the biggest dinosaurs ever found in that country.1
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Fun facts
Austroposeidon is the first giant titanosaur found in Brazil. Before it, most giant titanosaurs were known from Argentina.1
Its bones were discovered in 1953 by paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price, but scientists did not describe them until 2016.2
The only known fossil is a partial backbone, including neck, back, and hip vertebrae. No skull or leg bones have been found.2
CT scans of its neck bones showed dense growth rings mixed with air spaces. This was the first time such a feature was seen in sauropods.1
The fossil was found in fine sandstone, which suggests it was buried by a flood that spread mud and sand over a floodplain.2
The exact spot where the bones were found is now covered by a city, so scientists cannot dig there anymore.1
Most asked questions about Austroposeidon
?How big was Austroposeidon?
About 25 metres (82 feet) long. That makes it the largest dinosaur ever discovered in Brazil.21
?What did Austroposeidon eat?
It was a plant eater. As a titanosaur sauropod, it ate plants like ferns and leaves.2
?When did Austroposeidon live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 72 to 66 million years ago.21
?Is Austroposeidon a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a dinosaur. More specifically, it is a titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur.2
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think all giant dinosaurs lived in Argentina, but Austroposeidon shows that Brazil also had huge titanosaurs.
Truth: Austroposeidon was a giant titanosaur from Brazil, proving that giant sauropods lived across South America.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Austroposeidon
- Named by
- Bandeira et al. 20163
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Lognkosauria3
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria3
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- Presidente Prudente3
- Countries
- Brazil3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Llewellyn Ivor Price collected the bones in 1953 near Presidente Prudente city in Brazil. The species was named Austroposeidon magnificus in 2016 by Bandeira and colleagues.21
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Austroposeidon was, because only part of its backbone is known. The 25 meter length is an estimate.1
Where the facts come from
- A New Giant Titanosauria (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Group, Brazil | PLOS One (journals.plos.org)
- Austroposeidon (en.wikipedia.org)
- Austroposeidon in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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