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Quetecsaurus

Say it: keh-TEK-sore-us

Name means: “fire lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Quetecsaurus was a giant, long-necked plant-eater that lived in what is now Argentina. It had a small head, a huge body, and a long tail. This dinosaur is known from only one partial skeleton, but it helps scientists understand how titanosaurs evolved.1

Lived

94 to 90 million years ago2

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Mendoza Province, Argentina1 2

Food

Plants2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Quetecsaurus is known from a partial skeleton that includes a postorbital bone, teeth, the atlas, a rear cervical vertebra, an incomplete dorsal vertebra, a rear caudal centrum, dorsal ribs, a coracoid, five metacarpals, and fragments of a humerus, radius and ulna.1

It is the first sauropod with well-preserved remains to be discovered in the Cerro Lisandro Formation.1

Quetecsaurus had three unique features that set it apart from other dinosaurs. Its atlas had a prominent front bottom edge and enlarged back bottom processes. Its humerus had a strongly S-shaped top border. And the neural spines on its rear neck vertebrae had small side expansions.1

Scientists think Quetecsaurus was closely related to other giant titanosaurs like Mendozasaurus and Futalognkosaurus. It belongs to a group called Lognkosauria.1

The name Quetecsaurus comes from the Milcayac word 'quetec', meaning fire, and the Greek word 'sauros', meaning lizard.1

Quetecsaurus lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 93 to 90 million years ago.2

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

?How big was Quetecsaurus?

Scientists do not know its exact size because only a partial skeleton has been found, but it was a giant titanosaur, probably similar in size to its close relatives Mendozasaurus and Futalognkosaurus.1 2

?What did Quetecsaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater. Like other sauropods, it had a small head and teeth suited for eating plants.1

?When did Quetecsaurus live?

It lived during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 93 to 90 million years ago.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Quetecsaurus
Named by: González Riga and Ortiz David 20142
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Lognkosauria2
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria2
Age of the rocks: 94 to 90 million years (Turonian)2
Rock formations: Cerro Lisandro2
Countries: Argentina2
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Quetecsaurus was named and described by Bernardo González Riga and Leonardo Ortiz David in 2014. The only known specimen was found in red mudstones of the Cerro Lisandro Formation in Mendoza Province, Argentina.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly where Quetecsaurus fits in the titanosaur family tree. Some studies place it as a sister taxon to Lognkosauria, while others include it within that group.1

Where the facts come from

Quetecsaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Quetecsaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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