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Argentinosaurus
''Argentinosaurus'' (meaning "lizard from Argentina") is a genus of giant sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period in what is now Argentina. Although it is only known from fragmentary remains, ''Argentinosaurus'' is one of the Largest prehistoric animals#Non-avian dinosaurs (Dinosauria), largest known land animals of all time, perhaps the largest, measuring long and weighing . It was a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous. Though there is no concrete evidence confirming their claims, there are paleontologists who regard it as possibly the largest dinosaur ever, and possibly the longest animal ever. The first ''Argentinosaurus'' bone was discovered in 1987 by a farmer on his farm near the city of Plaza Huincul. A scientific excavation of the site led by the Argentine palaeontologist José Bonaparte was conducted in 1989, yielding several back vertebrae and parts of a sacrum—fused vertebrae between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titanosauria
Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of Sauropoda, sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the Largest land animal, largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as ''Patagotitan'', estimated at long with a mass of , and the comparably-sized ''Argentinosaurus'' and ''Puertasaurus'' from the Patagonia, same region. The group's name alludes to the mythological Titan (mythology), Titans of ancient Greek mythology, via the type genus (now considered a ''nomen dubium)'' ''Titanosaurus''. Together with the Brachiosauridae, brachiosaurids and relatives, titanosaurs make up the larger sauropod clade Titanosauriformes. Titanosaurs have long been a poorly-known group, and the rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropod
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their body), and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Well-known genera include '' Apatosaurus'', '' Argentinosaurus'', '' Alamosaurus'', ''Brachiosaurus'', '' Camarasaurus'', '' Diplodocus,'' and '' Mamenchisaurus''. The oldest known unequivocal sauropod dinosaurs are known from the Early Jurassic. '' Isanosaurus'' and '' Antetonitrus'' were originally described as Triassic sauropods, but their age, and in the case of ''Antetonitrus'' also its sauropod status, were subsequently questioned. Sauropod-like sauropodomorph tracks from the Fleming Fjord Formation (Greenland) might, however, indicate the occurrence of the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Largest Prehistoric Animals
The largest prehistoric animals include both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Many of them are described below, along with their typical range of size (for the general dates of extinction, see the link to each). Many species mentioned might not actually be the largest representative of their clade due to the incompleteness of the fossil record and many of the sizes given are merely estimates since no complete specimen have been found. Their body mass, especially, is largely conjecture because soft tissue was rarely fossilized. Generally, the size of extinct species was subject to energetic and biomechanical constraints. Non-mammalian synapsids (Synapsida) Caseasaurs (Caseasauria) The herbivorous ''Alierasaurus'' was the largest Caseidae, caseid and the largest amniote to have lived at the time, with an estimated length around . ''Cotylorhynchus, Cotylorhynchus hancocki'' is also large, with an estimated length and weight of at least and more than . Edaphosaurids (Ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutionary history, evolution of dinosaurs is a subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya and their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, Evolution of birds, having evolved from earlier Theropoda, theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomy (biology), taxonomic, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plaza Huincul
Plaza Huincul is a small city in Neuquen province, with a population of around 13,000 people, located in southwestern Argentina. It is approximately south-west from the capital, Buenos Aires. Plaza Huincul is located in the middle of the desert and grew due to an oil discovery in the area in 1918. It is said that the largest fossils in the world are found there; such as Argentinosaurus, Giganotosaurus, and Mapusaurus. Plaza Huincul has an oil & gas refinery that belongs to YPF, an Argentinian oil company and it shares various common factors with the city of Cutral Có (mostly with its paleontological tourism). One of the most important roads in the province go through Plaza Huincul: National Road Number 22. Its economy is mainly around oil & gas services. There is a growing number of farms that raise sheep and goats History The area around what is Plaza Huincul today was first seen in 1876 during the "Desert Campaign". In 1876, a Chilean man by the surname of Campos and hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mapusaurus
''Mapusaurus'' ( Earth lizard) is a genus of giant carcharodontosaurid carnosaurian dinosaur that lived in Argentina during the Turonian age of the Late Cretaceous. Discovery ''Mapusaurus'' was excavated between 1997 and 2001, by the Argentinian-Canadian Dinosaur Project, from an exposure of the Huincul Formation (late Cenomanian–Turonian) at Cañadón del Gato. It was described and named by paleontologists Rodolfo Coria and Phil Currie in 2006. The name ''Mapusaurus'' is derived from the Mapuche word ''Mapu'', meaning 'of the Land' or 'of the Earth' and the Greek ''sauros'', meaning 'lizard'. The type species, ''Mapusaurus roseae'', is named for both the rose-colored rocks, in which the fossils were found and for Rose Letwin, who sponsored the expeditions which recovered these fossils. The designated holotype for the genus and type species, ''Mapusaurus roseae'', is an isolated right nasal (MCF-PVPH-108.1, Museo Carmen Funes, Paleontología de Vertebrados, Plaza Hui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neuquén Province
Neuquén () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province at its northeast corner. History The Neuquén Province receives its name from the Neuquén River. The term ''"Neuquén"'' derives from the Mapudungun (a local dialect of the Mapuche language) word ''"Nehuenken"'' meaning ''drafty'', which the aborigines used for the river. The word (without the accentuation) is a palindrome. Lácar Department in Neuquén Province has the southernmost known remains of maize before it was further diffused by the Inca Empire. Maize remains were found as far south as 40°19' S in Melinquina, with it being found inside pottery dated to 730 ±80 BP and 920 ±60 BP. This maize was probably brought across the Andes from Peru during the Inca Empire that also reached Chile. Agriculture was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huincul Formation
The Huincul Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian, Early Turonian) age of the Neuquén Basin that outcrops in the Mendoza Province, Mendoza, Rio Negro Province, Río Negro and Neuquén Provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina.Huincul Formation at Fossilworks.org It is the second formation in the Río Limay Subgroup, the oldest subgroup within the Neuquén Group. Formerly, that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Huincul Formation was known as the Huincul Member.Sánchez ''et al.'', 2006 Description The type locality of the Huincul Formation is near the town of Plaza Huincul in Neuquén Province after which the formation was named by Wichmann in 19 ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Museo Carmen Funes
Museo Municipal Carmen Funes, or, the Carmen Funes Municipal Museum, is a museum of paleontology in Plaza Huincul, Neuquén Province, Argentina. It is best known for its collection of dinosaur fossils, including the only specimen of the largest recorded dinosaur remains, ''Argentinosaurus huinculensis'', and the only known sauropod embryos, which were discovered at a huge nesting site in Auca Mahuida, Patagonia. Its standard abbreviation is MCF-PVPH, or just PVPH to denote the paleontological collection. Overview The museum's founder and director is Rodolfo Coria. It has an exhibition area, workshops for preparing fossils, and stores. Fieldwork, often in cooperation with American museums, continues in fossil-rich Patagonia. The museum's collections include 11 holotype specimens. Significant past exhibits include: * "Tiniest Giants: Discovering Dinosaur Egg Features the sauropod eggs and embryos from Patagonia, in cooperation with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
José Bonaparte
José Fernando Bonaparte (14 June 1928–18 February 2020) was an Argentine paleontologist who discovered a plethora of South American dinosaurs and mentored a new generation of Argentine paleontologists. He has been described by paleontologist Peter Dodson as "almost singlehandedly...responsible for Argentina becoming the sixth country in the world in kinds of dinosaurs." Biography Bonaparte was the son of an Italian sailor, with no close connection to Napoleon's House of Bonaparte. He was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, and grew up in Mercedes, Buenos Aires. Despite a lack of formal training in paleontology, he started collecting fossils with many friends at an early age, and created a museum in their home town. He later became the curator of the National University of Tucumán, where he was named Doctor ''honoris causa'' in 1976, and then in the late 1970s became a senior scientist at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales in Buenos Aires. Bonaparte was a two-tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodolfo Coria
Rodolfo Aníbal Coria (born in Neuquén June 1, 1959), is an Argentine paleontologist. He is best known for having directed the field study and co-naming of ''Argentinosaurus'' (possibly the world's largest land animal ever) in 1993, and '' Giganotosaurus'' (one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores), in 1995 among other landmark South American dinosaurs, including '' Mapusaurus'', '' Aucasaurus'', and '' Quilmesaurus''. He is a member of the Argentine Paleontological Association, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Paleontological Society and The Explorers Club. He was a leading researcher at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum, in Buenos Aires, director of the Museo Carmen Funes in Plaza Huincul (Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
