Notocolossus
"southern giant"
- Lived
- 90 to 84 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- González Riga et al. 2016
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
90 million years ago
Habitat
River channels and broad floodplains in what is now Argentina. Other sauropods from the Plottier Formation include Muyelensaurus and Petrobrasaurus.
Field notes
About Notocolossus
What it was like
Notocolossus was one of the biggest titanosaurs, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from bones that include a huge upper arm bone and a nearly complete back foot. The foot shows short toes suited to carrying great weight.
Its world
It lived about 90 to 84 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Plottier Formation, where it lived alongside the smaller titanosaurs Muyelensaurus and Petrobrasaurus.
How it was found
González Riga and colleagues named it in 2016.
Field gallery
More views of Notocolossus
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 Notocolossus.
The evidence
The science behind Notocolossus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The first skeleton preserves a massive upper arm bone, part of the pelvis and back and tail vertebrae.
- Another individual preserves a complete hind foot and part of the tail.
- The hind foot has compact weight-bearing bones, short toes and unusually blunt claw bones.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing head, neck and most of the body are restored from better-known titanosaurs such as Mendozasaurus.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull and the length of its neck.
- Its exact weight and total body length.
- Whether the unusual claw tips were normal or the result of disease.
Discovery timeline
- 2016Named itGonzález Riga et al.
- 2018Family treeGonzàlez Riga et al.
- 2019Family treeRIGA et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Notocolossus
Named it
Described a giant titanosaur with a massive upper arm bone and an unusually compact hind foot.
A gigantic new dinosaur from Argentina and the evolution of the sauropod hind foot. Scientific Reports 6
Read the paper : A gigantic new dinosaur from Argentina and the evolution of the sauropod hind foot (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Placed Notocolossus among a group of giant titanosaurs that also includes Mendozasaurus, Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus.
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)Family tree
Compared titanosaur limbs and feet, including Notocolossus, and defined a larger group containing many giant forms.
An overview of the appendicular skeletal anatomy of South American titanosaurian sauropods, with definition of a newly recognized clade. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 91
Read the paper : An overview of the appendicular skeletal anatomy of South American titanosaurian sauropods, with definition of a newly recognized clade (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Colossosauria
Sources: Wikidata