Macrogryphosaurus
"big enigmatic lizard"
- Lived
- 90 to 86 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Ornithopods
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Calvo et al. 2007
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
90 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers crossed low plains in what is now Argentina. The Sierra Barrosa Formation also contains Murusraptor, Mendozasaurus and Kaijutitan.
Field notes
About Macrogryphosaurus
What it was like
Macrogryphosaurus was a fairly large plant eater that walked on two legs, an elasmarian ornithopod. It had thin plates of bone along its ribs.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. It comes from the Sierra Barrosa Formation, where it shared the land with the megaraptor Murusraptor and the titanosaurs Mendozasaurus and Kaijutitan.
How it was found
Calvo and colleagues named Macrogryphosaurus in 2007.
Field gallery
More views of Macrogryphosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Macrogryphosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Macrogryphosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton preserves much of the backbone, ribs and pelvis.
- Its neck was unusually long for an ornithopod, while its trunk was relatively short.
- Thin plates of bone lay beside the rib cage.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing head and limbs are restored using Talenkauen and other members of Elasmaria.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull.
- What the thin plates beside its ribs did.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2007Named itCalvo, Porfiri & Novas
- 2019Close relativeRozadilla, Agnolín & Novas
- 2020Full descriptionRozadilla, Cruzado-Caballero & Calvo
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Macrogryphosaurus
Named it
Named a large ornithopod with thin plates beside its ribs and grouped it with Talenkauen in Elasmaria.
Discovery of a new ornithopod dinosaur from the Portezuelo Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Arquivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro 65: 471-483
No link available
Close relative
Described Talenkauen and identified long necks and other shared features among the southern ornithopods grouped in Elasmaria.
Osteology of the Patagonian ornithopod Talenkauen santacrucensis (Dinosauria, Ornithischia). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 17: 2043-2089
Read the paper : Osteology of the Patagonian ornithopod Talenkauen santacrucensis (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) (opens in a new tab)Full description
Described the skeleton in detail and showed that its backbone combined a long neck with a short trunk.
Osteology of Ornithopod Macrogryphosaurus gondwanicus (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research 108: 104311
Read the paper : Osteology of Ornithopod Macrogryphosaurus gondwanicus (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Elasmaria
Sources: Wikidata