| Argentinosaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| A restoration of Argentinosaurus huinculensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Order: | †Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Family: | †Antarctosauridae |
| Genus: | †Argentinosaurus Bonaparte & Coria, 1993 |
| Species: | †A. huinculensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Argentinosaurus huinculensis Bonaparte & Coria, 1993 | |
Argentinosaurus had been estimated to be about 36.3-37 meters long and 75.4-90 tonnes in weight when fully grown. Like all sauropods, it probably ate the leaves off the tops of conifers. It was a titanosaur, some of the biggest animals to have ever walked on land, and grew to that size to protect itself from predators like Mapusaurus except that it could nearly outrun any predator away. It also most likely traveled in herds from place to place, finding where the vegetation was more dense, the best possible food areas are after they've stripped the last area down. It was also one of the last giant sauropods to have lived, and may have shared its environment with another, smaller sauropod called Amargasaurus. Argentinosaurus is considered to be the largest dinosaur to scientists but actually there are about 3 more sauropods which compete with size with it, an Unnamed Patagonian titanosaur at 40 meters, Alamosaurus at 33-37 meters, Puertasaurus at 30-37 meters, Bruhathkayosaurus at 44 meters and Amphicoelias at 58 meters, people think that that's because of scientists have less evidence that they actually existed or not, making it a controversial and theoretical debate.
A pack of Giganotosaurus attacking an Argentinosaurus
In Popular Culture
Argentinosaurus was featured in a Walking with Dinosaurs special, Land of Giants, where Nigel Marvin tries to find them and see how they lived and survived from predators like Giganotosaurus. They were also in the BBC documentary Planet Dinosaur, where a herd of them is attacked by a pack of Mapusaurus. It was a main character in the IMAX movie, Dinosaurs, Giants of Patagonia. It also appears in Jurassic World: The Game as a common herbivore. Argentinosaurus appears in Jurassic World: Alive as a rare dinosaur.
Giants of Patagonia Argentinosaurus
References
Websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentinosaurus
http://www.rareresource.com/argentinosaurus.htm
http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/a/argentinosaurus.html
http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/ARGENTINOSAURUS
http://www.paleoglot.org/files/Bonaparte&Coria_93.pdf
http://www.miketaylor.org.uk/tmp/papers/Mazzetta-et-al_04_SA-dino-body-size.pdf
Documentaries:
Chased by Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs, Giants of Patagonia
Planet Dinosaur