Saltasaurus

Saltasaurus was a small titanosaurian sauropod that inhabited South America during the closing stages of the Cretaceous period. Measuring around eight metres in length, it was remarkably modest in size compared with giants like Argentinosaurus. What made Saltasaurus truly revolutionary upon its discovery was the preservation of thousands of small bony studs and larger oval osteoderms embedded across its hide. This demonstrated for the first time that some sauropods possessed body armour, likely providing defense against abelisaurid predators. Saltasaurus had a broad torso, sturdy limbs, and a flexible tail that could possibly have helped support the animal if it reared on its hind legs to reach high vegetation. Its low-slung, stocky build represents a specialized lineage of dwarf titanosaurs that thrived in Late Cretaceous ecosystems.

It was the first sauropod found with bony dermal armour plates embedded in its back.

Where and when

Saltasaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 72.1 to 66 million years ago (Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from Argentina, in the Lecho Formation.

The numbers

Length 8.3 m (estimates run from 8 to 8.5 m). Mass about 3 t. Hip height about 1.7 m. That is 4.9 human-lengths, or 0.74 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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