Limaysaurus

Limaysaurus was a medium-sized herbivorous sauropod that inhabited South America during the mid-Cretaceous period, roughly 97 million years ago. Known from several well-preserved skeletons discovered in Patagonia, it reached around fifteen to seventeen metres in body length. As a member of the rebbachisaurid family, Limaysaurus had tall neural spines along its back and hips that supported a prominent low ridge or muscular hump. Unlike earlier diplodocids, it had a relatively short neck and fed on low-growing vegetation near rivers and floodplains. Its discovery confirmed that the diplodocoid lineage survived deep into the Cretaceous on the southern continents, coexisting with enormous titanosaurs and giant carcharodontosaurid predators like Giganotosaurus.

Remarkably complete skeletons representing numerous individuals make it the best-understood rebbachisaurid known.

Where and when

Limaysaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 99.6 to 95 million years ago (Cenomanian age). Its remains come from Argentina, in the Candeleros Formation.

The numbers

Length 16 m (estimates run from 15 to 17 m). Mass about 8.4 t. Hip height about 3.8 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, hip height.

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