Mendozasaurus
"Mendoza lizard"
- Lived
- 90 to 86 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- González-Riga 2003
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
90 million years ago
Habitat
Its part of Argentina was crossed by rivers and floodplains. Murusraptor and Kaijutitan are known from the Sierra Barrosa Formation.
Field notes
About Mendozasaurus
What it was like
Mendozasaurus was a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater. Its neck bones were broad and tall, and bony plates were set in its skin. It was a close relative of the giant Futalognkosaurus.
Its world
It lived about 90 to 86 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Sierra Barrosa Formation, where it lived alongside the predator Murusraptor and the titanosaur Kaijutitan.
How it was found
González-Riga named Mendozasaurus in 2003. Its bones come from a single site.
Field gallery
More views of Mendozasaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Mendozasaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Mendozasaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Neck, back and tail bones, limb bones, hands and feet reveal much of its skeleton behind the head.
- The rear neck vertebrae have tall, broad bony projections, giving the neck a sturdy base.
- Rounded and low, cone-shaped bony armor pieces were found with its remains.
Borrowed from relatives
- Tapuiasaurus provides a broader titanosaur comparison for the missing head.
- Other sauropods guide the restoration of the missing front of the neck.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull and the full length of its neck.
- The arrangement of the bony armor in its skin.
- Whether its missing finger bones were absent in life or lost before burial.
Often drawn wrong
- Crushed neck bones should not be used to give it an unusually short neck.
- Its low armor pieces should not become a row of tall, sharp spikes.
Discovery timeline
- 2003Named itGonzález-Riga
- 2016Close relativeWilson et al.
- 2018Full descriptionGonzàlez Riga et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Mendozasaurus
Named it
Named a titanosaur from Argentina with broad neck vertebrae and bony skin armor.
A new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mendoza Province, Argentina. Ameghiniana 40: 155-172
No link available
Close relative
Described the skull of Tapuiasaurus, a broader titanosaur comparison for restoring the missing head of Mendozasaurus.
The skull of the titanosaurTapuiasaurus macedoi(Dinosauria: Sauropoda), a basal titanosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 178: 611-662
Read the paper : The skull of the titanosaurTapuiasaurus macedoi(Dinosauria: Sauropoda), a basal titanosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil (opens in a new tab)Full description
Described the skeleton, hands, feet and armor, and showed that crushing had made some vertebrae appear unusually short.
Osteology of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap: implications for basal titanosaur relationships. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 184: 136-181
Read the paper : Osteology of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap: implications for basal titanosaur relationships (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Lognkosauria
Sources: Wikidata