Dinosaurs / Cretaceous / Futalognkosaurus
Futalognkosaurus
Cretaceous foo-tah-LONG-koh-SAWR-us, “giant chief lizard”
Futalognkosaurus is a colossal titanosaur discovered on the shores of Lake Barreales in Neuquén Province, Argentina. Excavated from the Late Cretaceous Portezuelo Formation between 2000 and 2005, its discovery yielded an unusually complete specimen including most of the cervical vertebrae, dorsal column, ribs, and enormous pelvic girdle. Reaching twenty-six to thirty metres in length and weighing over thirty tonnes, it was a massive animal even by sauropod standards. Its neck vertebrae bore wide lateral processes, creating an exceptionally thick and deep neck, while its wide ribcage indicates a broad, barrel-like torso. As the name-giving member of the Lognkosauria, Futalognkosaurus represents a specialised clade of immense South American titanosaurians.
Futalognkosaurus is one of the most anatomically complete giant titanosaur skeletons ever recovered.
Where and when
Futalognkosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 89.8 to 86.3 million years ago (Coniacian age). Its remains come from Argentina, in the Portezuelo Formation.
The numbers
Length 28 m (estimates run from 26 to 30 m). Mass about 35 t. Hip height about 5 m. That is 16.5 human-lengths, or 2.5 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.