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Panamericansaurus, Late CretaceousAllen Formation, Argentina · named 2010
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Panamericansaurus

Type species Panamericansaurus schroederi

Lived
72 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Diet
Herbivore
Group
Sauropods
Found in
Argentina
Named by
Calvo and Porfiri 2010

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

1 find

70 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

The Allen Formation records coastal dunes, wetlands and river environments in what is now Argentina, with conifers, cycads and palms. Other dinosaurs recorded from these rocks include Austroraptor, Patagopelta and Neuquensaurus.

Field notes

About Panamericansaurus

What it was like

Panamericansaurus was a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater related to Aeolosaurus. It is known from tail bones, a rib and parts of the front leg.

Its world

It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Allen Formation, where it shared the land with the raptor Austroraptor and the armored Patagopelta.

How it was found

Calvo and Porfiri named it in 2010. The type species is Panamericansaurus schroederi. It is named after a company that helped fund the work.

Field gallery

More views of Panamericansaurus

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Panamericansaurus in its habitat, photo 1

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 Panamericansaurus.

The evidence

The science behind Panamericansaurus

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • The partial skeleton includes several tail vertebrae, a hip vertebra, the left upper arm bone, two chevrons from under the tail and rib fragments.
  • Its upper arm bone is slender and straight seen from the side, with a prominent crest for the shoulder and chest muscles. It is more slender than that of Aeolosaurus.
  • The shapes of the joints and bony ridges in its tail distinguish it from Aeolosaurus.

Borrowed from relatives

  • The missing head is compared with the skull of Tapuiasaurus, another titanosaur.
  • The neck, body, legs and feet draw on the more complete skeleton of Mnyamawamtuka.
  • Comparing its upper arm bone with that of Gondwanatitan gave the first estimate of its body length.

Still unknown

  • The shape of its skull and teeth.
  • Its skin covering and color.
  • Whether it carried bony plates in its skin. A loose plate from rocks that also held several other kinds of dinosaur has not been tied to any one of them.

Discovery timeline

  1. 2010Named itCalvo & Porfiri
  2. 2011Family treeSANTUCCI & DE ARRUDA-CAMPOS
  3. 2016Family treeFrança et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Panamericansaurus

Close relatives

Other members of Aeolosaurini

Sources: Wikidata