Tehuelchesaurus

Say it like this: “tay-WAYL-chay-SAWR-us”

Tehuelchesaurus benitezii

Tehuelchesaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Argentina.

Quiz me on Tehuelchesaurus

When: Late Jurassic (Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 161.5 to 143.1 million years ago
Named in: 1999 · Rich, T. H.; Vickers-Rich, P.; Giménez, O.; Cúneo, R.; Puerta, P.; Vacca, R.
Hip height: 3.3 m · 11 ft
Length: 15 m · 49 ft
Weight: 18 tonnes
Found in: Argentina · Cañadón Calcáreo
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Eusauropoda

The story in short

Tehuelchesaurus was formally named in 1999 by T. H. Rich and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Tehuelchesaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian · Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 161.5 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Argentina, including the Cañadón Calcáreo Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Tehuelchesaurus at a length near 15 m, hips about 3.3 m high, and a body mass around 18 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Algoasaurus

Algoasaurus bauri

Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian) · roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago

Atlasaurus

Atlasaurus imelakei

Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) · roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago

Bagualia

Bagualia alba

Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago