Saltasaurus
Saltasaurus was a small sauropod with a short neck and stubby legs. It lived in Argentina during the Late Cretaceous, about 70 million years ago. It was one of the first sauropods known to have armor made of bony plates in its skin.12
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Fun facts
Saltasaurus was the first sauropod found with armor. It had bony plates called osteoderms embedded in its skin, which was a surprise to scientists.12
The armor came in two types: larger oval plates up to 12 centimetres long, and tiny round or pentagonal ossicles about 7 millimetres across.1
Saltasaurus had a very wide belly, shaped a bit like a hippopotamus. Some scientists thought it might have lived in water.1
Fossil eggs found in Patagonia, Argentina, may belong to saltasaurines. The eggs were about 11 to 12 centimetres in diameter, and some contained embryos with skin impressions showing bead-like scales.1
Saltasaurus lived about 70 million years ago, near the end of the age of dinosaurs. It was one of the last sauropods before they went extinct.12
The vertebrae in Saltasaurus had shallow depressions called pleurocoels, which are also seen in other titanosaurs like Alamosaurus and Gondwanatitan.1
Most asked questions about Saltasaurus
?How big was Saltasaurus?
Scientists disagree on its size. One estimate says it was about 6 metres long, another says up to 8.5 metres (28 feet), and a third says up to 12.8 metres (42 feet). Its weight was probably between 2.5 and 7 tonnes.12
?Did Saltasaurus have armor?
Yes, it had bony plates called osteoderms embedded in its skin. There were larger oval plates up to 12 centimetres long and tiny round ossicles about 7 millimetres across.12
?Could Saltasaurus swim?
Some scientists think it might have lived in water because its wide belly looked like a hippopotamus, but nobody knows for sure.1
?When did Saltasaurus live?
Saltasaurus lived about 70 to 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina.12
?How did Saltasaurus lay eggs?
Fossil nests show that female saltasaurines dug holes with their back feet, laid clutches of about 25 eggs, and buried them under dirt and plants. The eggs were about 11 to 12 centimetres across.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Saltasaurus
- Named by
- Bonaparte and Powell 19803
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Saltasauridae3
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Titanosauria > Macronaria3
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- Lecho3
- Countries
- Argentina3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Fossils were dug up between 1975 and 1977 at Estancia 'El Brete' in Argentina. José Bonaparte and Jaime E. Powell named Saltasaurus in 1980.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure how big Saltasaurus really was. Different estimates range from 6 to 12.8 metres long.1
Where the facts come from
- Saltasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Saltasaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Saltasaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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