Dino card No. 0615 of 2,027

Epachthosaurus

Say it: eh-PAK-thoh-SORE-us

Name means: “heavy lizard”5

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Epachthosaurus was a huge, long-necked plant-eater that stomped through Patagonia about 95 million years ago. It was one of the earliest titanosaurs, the group that included the biggest dinosaurs ever!5 1

Lived

100 to 90 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Chubut Province, central Patagonia, Argentina5 1

Food

Plants5

Length

up to 14.6 m2

largest known specimen

Weight

up to 6 tonnes2

largest known specimen

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 4 cars

as long as 3 cars parked in a rowas long as 81 bananas end to endabout as heavy as an elephantas heavy as 1200 watermelons

How big was Epachthosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Epachthosaurus is one of the earliest titanosaurs with procoelous tail vertebrae, meaning the front of each bone was cup-shaped and the back was a ball, like a ball-and-socket joint.1

A nearly complete skeleton was found with its hind legs bent and its front legs stretched out wide, as if it had died lying on its side.1

This dinosaur had six vertebrae fused together in its hip area, which helped support its massive body.1

Epachthosaurus had special extra bumps on its back vertebrae that may have helped anchor strong muscles.1

Its foot had a unique toe bone formula: 2 to 2-3 to 2-0, meaning the innermost toe had two bones, the next two, the middle three, the fourth two, and the outermost toe had none.1

The skeleton was found in a layer of volcanic ash, which helped preserve it for millions of years.1

AI-made picture of Epachthosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Epachthosaurus 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 Epachthosaurus

?How big was Epachthosaurus?

It was a medium-sized titanosaur. Scientists estimate it was about 15 to 20 metres long, which is longer than a school bus.3

?What did Epachthosaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater. Like other sauropods, it ate leaves and other vegetation.4

?When did Epachthosaurus live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 95 to 90 million years ago.4

?Was Epachthosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, it was a dinosaur. More specifically, it was a titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur.4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Epachthosaurus
Named by: Powell 19905
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Lithostrotia5
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria5
Age of the rocks: 100 to 90 million years (Cenomanian / Turonian)5
Rock formations: Bajo Barreal5
Countries: Argentina5
Fossil records: 3 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Epachthosaurus was named in 1990 by paleontologist Jaime Powell based on fossils from the Bajo Barreal Formation in Chubut, Argentina. The name means 'heavy lizard'.5 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Epachthosaurus grew, because no complete skeleton has been found.5

Where the facts come from

An articulated specimen of the basal titanosaurian (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) Epachthosaurus sciuttoi from the early Late Cretaceous Bajo Barreal Formation of Chubut Province, Argentina: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol 24, No 1 (tandfonline.com)
Epachthosaurus sciuttoi | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
The pelvic and hindlimb myology of the basal titanosaur Epachthosaurus sciuttoi (Sauropoda: Titanosauria) (ri.conicet.gov.ar)
Epachthosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Epachthosaurus 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.

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