Dino card No. 1434 of 2,027

Pitekunsaurus

Say it: pee-teh-KOON-sore-us

Name means: “discovering lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Pitekunsaurus was a long-necked sauropod that lived in what is now Argentina. It was a giant plant-eater that walked on four sturdy legs and used its long neck to reach leaves high in the trees.1

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Cañadón de Aguada Grande, Neuquén Province, Argentina3 2

Food

Plants3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Pitekunsaurus is known from a single fossil that includes parts of the skull, teeth, neck bones, back bones, tail bones, and arm bones.2

Its name comes from the Mapudungun word "pitekun," which means "to discover."1

The fossil was found by oil company explorer Luis Macaya in April 2004, and the species name honors him.1 2

Pitekunsaurus lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, between about 83 and 72 million years ago.3

Scientists think Pitekunsaurus was a type of titanosaur, a group of sauropods that included some of the largest land animals ever.1

The tail bones of Pitekunsaurus show two different types of joints, which suggests its tail was very flexible.2

AI-made picture of Pitekunsaurus — An AI-made picture of how Pitekunsaurus 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.

Ask Rex about Pitekunsaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

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.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Pitekunsaurus
Named by: Filippi and Garrido 20083
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Rinconsauria3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)3
Rock formations: Anacleto3
Countries: Argentina3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Pitekunsaurus was named by paleontologists L. Filippi and A. Garrido in 2008. The fossil was found by Luis Macaya, who reported it to the Museo Municipal Argentino Urquiza in April 2004.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how large Pitekunsaurus was, because only a partial skeleton has been found.2

Where the facts come from

Pitekunsaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Pitekunsaurus macayai gen. et sp. nov., nuevo titanosaurio (Saurischia, Sauropoda) del Cretácico Superior de la Cuenca Neuquina, Argentina (scielo.org.ar)
Pitekunsaurus 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