Argyrosaurus

Are-jie-roe-sore-us.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Argyrosaurus ‭(‬Silver lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Are-jie-roe-sore-us.

Named By

Richard Lydekker‭ ‬-‭ ‬1893.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauira,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosauria.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬superbus‭

Size

Uncertain sur to lack of remains.

Known locations

Argentina,‭ ‬Uruguay.

Time Period

Turonian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains.

In Depth

       One of the many Cretaceous era South American titanosaurian sauropods,‭ ‬Argyrosaurus was also one of the first to be named.‭ ‬The holotype of Argyrosaurus is based upon a left forelimb with further post cranial remains being added to the genus later.‭ ‬However in at least one instance some of these additional fossils have been re-evaluated as being distinctly different,‭ ‬and in this case were split from Argyrosaurus‭.

       Other dinosaurs active in South America during the Turonian period include other sauropods as well as theropods such as the abelisaur Ilokesia and the coelurosaur Bicentenaria.

Further Reading

– Contributions to a knowledge of the fossil vertebrates of Argentina. -‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Lydekker – 1893. – A reappraisal of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Argyrosaurus superbus,‭ ‬with a description of a new titanosaur genus – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 614–618 – P. D. Mannion & A. Otero – 2012.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT