Padillasaurus

Say it like this: “puh-DEE-yuh-SAWR-us”

Padillasaurus leivaensis

Padillasaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in CO.

Quiz me on Padillasaurus

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2015 · Carballido, J. L.; Pol, D.; Parra Ruge, M. L.; Padilla Bernal, S.; Páramo-Fonseca, M. E.; Etayo-Serna, F.
Hip height: 3.1 m · 10 ft
Length: 16–18 m · 52–59 ft
Weight: 10 tonnes
Found in: CO · Paja
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Somphospondyli

The story in short

Padillasaurus was formally named in 2015 by J. L. Carballido and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Padillasaurus date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from CO, including the Paja Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Padillasaurus at a length near 16–18 m, hips about 3.1 m high, and a body mass around 10 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Somphospondyli, among the sauropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Abdarainurus

Abdarainurus barsboldi

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago

Angolatitan

Angolatitan adamastor

Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) · roughly 89.8 to 85.7 million years ago

Arkharavia

Arkharavia heterocoelica

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago