Outline: a typical sauropod
Aeolosaurus
ee-OH-loh-SORE-us
"Aeolus's lizard"
Type species Aeolosaurus rionegrinus
- Lived
- 84 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay
- Named by
- Powell 1987
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
75 million years ago
Field notes
About Aeolosaurus
What it was like
Aeolosaurus was a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater from the southern continents. The spines on its tail bones leaned forward, a feature that may have helped support strong tail muscles. No skull has been found, so its head is still unknown.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina and Brazil, and it has also been reported from Uruguay. Its bones come from several rock layers, including the Angostura Colorada and Allen formations. In the Allen Formation it lived near the raptor Austroraptor.
How it was found
Powell named Aeolosaurus in 1987. The type species is Aeolosaurus rionegrinus. Bones of several individuals have been found, and more than one species has been named, which makes it one of the better known titanosaurs.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Aeolosaurini
Sources: WikidataNamed in: J. E. Powell. 1987. The Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina part VI—the titanosaurids. Revista del Museo Argentina de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales: Paleontología 3(3):147-153