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Macrogryphosaurus

Say it: mak-roh-GRY-foh-SORE-us

Name means: “big enigmatic lizard”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Cretaceous

Macrogryphosaurus was a big, gentle plant-eater that wandered the forests of ancient Argentina. It had a long neck and tail, and bony plates along its ribs that might have helped it breathe or stayed stiff. This dinosaur is the largest known member of its group, the elasmarian ornithopods.1

Lived

90 to 86 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Sierra Barrosa Formation, Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina1 3

Food

Plants1 2

Length

5 to 6 m1

estimate, the only known individual may not have been fully grown

Weight

300 kg1

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 10 big dogs

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 33 bananas end to endas heavy as 60 watermelons

How big was Macrogryphosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Macrogryphosaurus had bony plates along its ribs, called intercostal plates, which made its torso stiff and bird-like.1

It is the largest known elasmarian dinosaur, reaching about 6 metres (20 feet) long.1

Its name means 'big enigmatic lizard', because scientists were puzzled by its features.1

This dinosaur lived about 89 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period.1 2

Macrogryphosaurus had a long neck and a tail similar to a coelurosaur, a group of theropod dinosaurs, which is unusual for an ornithopod.1

Fossils of Macrogryphosaurus were discovered by a young boy named Rafael Moyano in 1999 near Lake Mari Menuco in Argentina.1

Only one nearly complete skeleton of Macrogryphosaurus has been found, so scientists are still learning about it.1

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

?How big was Macrogryphosaurus?

It was about 6 metres (20 feet) long, though one estimate says 5 metres (16 feet) and 300 kg (660 lb). It is the largest known elasmarian dinosaur.1

?What did Macrogryphosaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater, so it ate plants. The Paleobiology Database lists it as a ground-dwelling herbivore.3

?When did Macrogryphosaurus live?

It lived about 89 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period, in what is now Argentina.1

?Why did Macrogryphosaurus have plates on its ribs?

Scientists are not sure. The plates, called intercostal plates, made its torso stiff and bird-like, but their exact purpose is still a mystery.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Macrogryphosaurus was a slow, heavy dinosaur.

Truth: Actually, it was lightly built and graceful, with a slender body compared to many other big ornithopods.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Macrogryphosaurus
Named by: Calvo et al. 20073
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Elasmaria3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia3
Age of the rocks: 90 to 86 million years (Coniacian)3
Rock formations: Sierra Barrosa3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Macrogryphosaurus was discovered in 1999 by a boy named Rafael Moyano near Lake Mari Menuco in Argentina. Scientists Jorge Calvo, Juan Porfiri, and Fernando Novas named it in 2007.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating how many species of Macrogryphosaurus existed, and whether some other ornithopod fossils belong to this genus.1

Where the facts come from

Macrogryphosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Macrogryphosaurus Calvo et al. 2007 - Encyclopedia of Life (eol.org)
Macrogryphosaurus 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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