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long-neck giant
Amargasaurus
Say it like this: “ah-MAHR-gah-SAWR-us”
Amargasaurus cazaui
Amargasaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
- Named in
- 1991 · Salgado, L.; Bonaparte, J. F.
- Hip height
- 2.5 m · 8 ft
- Length
- 9–13 m · 30–43 ft
- Weight
- 2.5–4 tonnes
- Found in
- Argentina · La Amarga
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Dicraeosauridae
The story in short
Amargasaurus was formally named in 1991 by L. Salgado and J. F. Bonaparte. The name means “la Amarga lizard.”
Fossils referred to Amargasaurus date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the La Amarga Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Amargasaurus at a length near 9–13 m, hips about 2.5 m high, and a body mass around 2.5–4 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Dicraeosauridae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Amargatitanis
Amargatitanis macni
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Athenar
Athenar bermani
Late Jurassic (Tithonian) · roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago
Bajadasaurus
Bajadasaurus pronuspinax
Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) · roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago