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long-neck giant
Ardetosaurus
Say it like this: “ar-DEE-toh-SAWR-us”
Ardetosaurus viator
Ardetosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) · roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2024 · van der Linden, T. T. P.; Tschopp, E.; Sookias, R. B.; Wallaard, J. J. W.; Holwerda, F. M.; Schulp, A. S.
- Hip height
- 3.5 m · 11 ft
- Length
- 19.4 m · 64 ft
- Weight
- 6 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Diplodocinae
The story in short
In 2024, T. T. P. van der Linden and colleagues published the name Ardetosaurus. The name means “to burn.”
Fossils referred to Ardetosaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian), roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Ardetosaurus at a length near 19.4 m, hips about 3.5 m high, and a body mass around 6 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Diplodocinae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Barosaurus
Barosaurus lentus
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Dinheirosaurus
Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Diplodocus
Diplodocus longus
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago