Dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaur genus from the Early Cretaceous period
Amargasaurus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian), 129.4–122.46 Ma
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Amargasaurus skeleton cast in the Melbourne Museum foyer.
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
Saurischia
Clade:
†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:
†Sauropoda
Superfamily:
†Diplodocoidea
Family:
†Dicraeosauridae
Genus:
†Amargasaurus Salgado & Bonaparte, 1991
Species:
†A. cazaui
Binomial name
†Amargasaurus cazaui
Salgado & Bonaparte, 1991
Amargasaurus (/əˌmɑːrɡəˈsɔːrəs/; "La Amarga lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous epoch (129.4–122.46 mya) of what is now Argentina. The only known skeleton was discovered in 1984 and is virtually complete, including a fragmentary skull, making Amargasaurus one of the best-known sauropods of its epoch. Amargasaurus was first described in 1991 and contains a single known species, Amargasaurus cazaui. It was a large animal, but small for a sauropod, reaching 9 to 13 meters (30 to 43 feet) in length. Most distinctively, it sported two parallel rows of tall spines down its neck and back, taller than in any other known sauropod. In life, these spines could have stuck out of the body as solitary structures that supported a keratinous sheath. An alternate hypothesis, now more favored, postulates that they could have formed a scaffold supporting a skin sail. They might have been used for display, combat, or defense.
Amargasaurus was discovered in sedimentary rocks of the La Amarga Formation, which dates back to the Barremian and late Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. A herbivore, it shared its environment with at least three other sauropod genera, which might have exploited different food sources in order to reduce competition. Amargasaurus probably fed at mid-height, as shown by the orientation of its inner ear and the articulation of its neck vertebrae, which suggest a habitual position of the snout 80 centimeters (31 inches) above the ground and a maximum height of 2.7 meters (8.9 feet). Within the Sauropoda, Amargasaurus is classified as a member of the family Dicraeosauridae, which differs from other sauropods in showing shorter necks and smaller body sizes.
Amargasaurus one of the best-known sauropods of its epoch. Amargasaurus was first described in 1991 and contains a single known species, Amargasaurus...
related and more completely known Amargasaurus. Several possible functions have been proposed for these spines in Amargasaurus; the 2019 description of Bajadasaurus...
Flagellicaudata, along with Diplodocidae. Dicraeosauridae includes genera such as Amargasaurus, Suuwassea, Dicraeosaurus, and Brachytrachelopan. Specimens of this family...
to ambush its prey. Gregory Paul argued that parallel neck sails of Amargasaurus would have reduced neck flexion. Instead, he proposed that, with their...
probably closely related to other South American dicraeosaurids such as Amargasaurus. Pilmatueia had relatively pneumatic vertebrae compared to other dicraeosaurids...
Bonaparte. This expedition also recovered the peculiar spiny sauropod Amargasaurus. It was the eighth expedition within the project named "Jurassic and...
dicraeosaurid, Amargasaurus. As a dicraeosaurid, Amargatitanis would have resembled better known members of the family such as Dicraeosaurus and Amargasaurus, which...
Protoceratops Ryan Hirakida as Dylan Dilophosaurus Alessandro Juliani as Martin Amargasaurus Diana Kaarina as Tricia Troodon (first voice) James Kirk as Perry Parasaurolophus...
relationship to the Late Jurassic African taxon Dicraeosaurus, instead of to Amargasaurus from the Lower Cretaceous of South America. Rauhut et al. (2005, 671)...
the films, toylines, and video games. Amargosaurus - A hybrid of an Amargasaurus and a Spinosaurus. It appeared in the Jurassic Park: Chaos Effect toyline...
same general region as Spinosaurus, and the South American sauropod Amargasaurus, might have developed similar structural adaptations of their vertebrae...
Your Dino Senses March 1, 2014 September 5, 2013 Albertosaurus/Troodon, Amargasaurus, Giganotosaurus, Triceratops Team Dino: Dan is at Drumheller, Alberta...
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