Dino card No. 1554 of 2,027

Rinconsaurus

Say it: RIN-con-SORE-us

Name means: “lizard from Rincón de los Sauces”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Rinconsaurus was a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur that walked on four sturdy legs. It had a very long tail with strange bones that made scientists say 'amazing tail!'1

Lived

86 to 84 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Rincón de los Sauces, Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina1 2

Food

Plants1

Length

11 m1

estimated

Weight

3.21 tonnes to 5.39 tonnes1

Height

2.5 m1

at the shoulder

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the shoulder

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 4 cars

as long as 2.5 cars parked in a rowas long as 61 bananas end to endabout as heavy as an elephantas heavy as 1100 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Rinconsaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Rinconsaurus was a slender titanosaur, not as bulky as many other sauropods.1

Its tail bones were unusual: some were flat on both ends, some were ball-and-socket, and some were ball-shaped on both ends.1

The species name 'caudamirus' means 'amazing tail' in Latin.1

Fossils of three individuals were found together: two adults and one juvenile.1

Rinconsaurus lived about 86 to 83 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous.3

Its teeth were shaped like pencils and chisels, with slanted wear marks from chewing plants.1

The first fossils were discovered in 1997 by Gabriel Benítez.1

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

?How big was Rinconsaurus?

About 11 meters (36 feet) long and 2.5 meters (8 feet) tall at the shoulder. Its weight was between 3.2 and 5.4 tonnes.1

?What did Rinconsaurus eat?

It was an herbivore, eating plants like cycads, conifers, and even grasses. Its teeth were shaped like pencils and chisels for stripping leaves.1

?Why is it called Rinconsaurus?

The name comes from Rincón de los Sauces, the town in Argentina where its fossils were found. 'Saurus' means lizard in Greek.1 2

?When did Rinconsaurus live?

It lived about 86 to 83 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1

Ask Rex about Rinconsaurus

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: Rinconsaurus
Named by: Calvo and González Riga 20033
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: Rinconsaurus was named in 2003 by paleontologists Jorge Calvo and Bernardo González Riga. The fossils were found in 1997 by Gabriel Benítez near Rincón de los Sauces, Argentina.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how long Rinconsaurus's neck was, because no complete neck bones have been found.1

Where the facts come from

Rinconsaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Rinconsaurus caudamirus gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina | Calvo | Andean Geology (andeangeology.cl)
Rinconsaurus 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