Look up · dinosaur 1076 of 1,425
long-neck giant
Rocasaurus
Say it like this: “ROH-kah-SAWR-us”
Rocasaurus muniozi
Rocasaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Argentina.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 2000 · Salgado, L.; Azpilicueta, C.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 8 m · 26 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Argentina · Allen
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Saltasaurinae
The story in short
Rocasaurus was formally named in 2000 by L. Salgado and C. Azpilicueta. The name means “general Roca lizard.”
Fossils referred to Rocasaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Allen Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Rocasaurus at a length near 8 m.
On the family tree it sits in Saltasaurinae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.