Dino card No. 1334 of 2,027

Overosaurus

Say it: oh-veh-ro-SORE-us

Name means: “Overo lizard, after the Cerro Overo locality where it was found”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Overosaurus was a small, long-necked plant-eater that lived in what is now Patagonia, Argentina. It was a titanosaur, a group of giant sauropods, but it was much smaller than its relatives. This dinosaur walked on four sturdy legs and used its long neck to reach leaves high in the trees.1 2

Lived

86 to 84 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Cerro Overo locality, Patagonia, Argentina1 3

Food

Plants3 1

Length

up to 10 m1

estimated

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 56 bananas end to end

How big was Overosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Overosaurus is known from a single, nearly complete backbone from the neck to the tail, including ribs and hip bones.1 2

It lived about 86 to 84 million years ago, during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.1 3

Overosaurus was small for a titanosaur, only about 10 metres (33 feet) long, while many other titanosaurs were over 30 metres long.1

Its hip bone (ilium) was unusually short from front to back and tall from top to bottom compared to other titanosaurs.2

The front part of its hip bone was bent strongly outward and ended in a point that slanted downward and outward.2

Overosaurus had six fused sacral vertebrae in its hip, which helped support its weight.1

The fossil was found by Carlos Parada and his family, who helped the scientists during fieldwork.1

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

?How big was Overosaurus?

It was about 10 metres (33 feet) long, which is small for a titanosaur.1

?What did Overosaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater (herbivore) that used its long neck to reach leaves high in trees.1

?When did Overosaurus live?

It lived about 86 to 84 million years ago, during the Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Overosaurus
Named by: Coria et al. 20133
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Rinconsauria3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria3
Age of the rocks: 86 to 84 million years (Santonian)3
Rock formations: Bajo de la Carpa3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Overosaurus was named in 2013 by Rodolfo Coria and his team. The only fossil was found in 2002 at Cerro Overo in Argentina by Carlos Parada and his family, who helped the researchers.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how Overosaurus is related to other titanosaurs, though it is thought to be part of a group called Aeolosaurini.1 2

Where the facts come from

Overosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Overosaurus paradasorum gen. et sp. nov. , a new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria: Lithostrotia) from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina (mapress.com)
Overosaurus 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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