Futalognkosaurus

What it was like

Futalognkosaurus was a titanosaur, one of the giant long-necked plant eaters of the Cretaceous. It belonged to a group called Lognkosauria, which includes some of the heaviest animals ever to walk on land. Its neck bones were deep and heavy, and its long neck and tail made up much of its length.

It probably spent most of its day feeding, sweeping its neck across a wide area of plants without moving its huge body.

Its world

It lived about 94 to 86 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Portezuelo Formation, where it shared the land with the large hunter Megaraptor, the feathered predators Unenlagia and Neuquenraptor, and the small, stubby-armed Patagonykus.

How it was found

Calvo and colleagues named Futalognkosaurus in 2007. The name comes from a local native language. Only one find is known, but it includes a large part of the neck, back and hips, which makes it one of the more complete giant titanosaurs.