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long-neck giant
Neuquensaurus
Say it like this: “nayoo-ken-SAWR-us”
Neuquensaurus australis
Neuquensaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Santonian · Campanian) · roughly 85.7 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1992 · Powell, J. E.
- Hip height
- 2 m · 7 ft
- Length
- 7–9 m · 23–30 ft
- Weight
- 1.8–3.5 tonnes
- Found in
- Argentina · Bajo de la Carpa
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Saltasaurinae
The story in short
Neuquensaurus was formally named in 1992 by J. E. Powell. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Neuquensaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Santonian · Campanian), roughly 85.7 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Bajo de la Carpa Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Neuquensaurus at a length near 7–9 m, hips about 2 m high, and a body mass around 1.8–3.5 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Saltasaurinae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.