Aeolosaurus

Aeolosaurus was a medium-sized titanosaur sauropod that inhabited South America during the final stages of the Late Cretaceous. Named after Aeolus, the Greek ruler of the winds, in reference to the gusty Patagonian climate of its discovery site, it measured around fourteen to eighteen metres long. Its skeleton is characterised by remarkable tail vertebrae whose neural spines point noticeably forward, a distinctive structural trait that gave its clan, the Aeolosaurini, its name. This tail morphology may have altered the attachment of powerful retractor muscles or allowed greater tail flexibility. Skeletal remains and associated osteoderms suggest that it carried bony armour plates within its skin, shielding its back as it browsed low-to-medium foliage across ancient river floodplains.

Its middle tail vertebrae have forward-pointing neural spines, an unusual feature characteristic of the aeolosaurine clade.

Where and when

Aeolosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 72.1 to 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from Argentina and Brazil, in the Angostura Colorada Formation.

The numbers

Length 16 m (estimates run from 14 to 18 m). Mass about 12 t. Hip height about 3.5 m. That is 9.4 human-lengths, or 1.43 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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