Aeolosaurus
Name:
Aeolosaurus
(Aeolus lizard).
Phonetic: Ay-oh-lo-sore-us.
Named By: Powell - 1987.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Aeolosauridae,
Aeolosaurini.
Species: A. rionegrinus (type),
A.
colhuehuapensis.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Estimated at 14 meters long, quite
possibly larger.
Known locations: Argentina and Brazil.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Several individuals, but of
partial remains.
Aeolosaurus
is one of the better known South American titanosaurs
of the late
Cretaceous period. The name is derived from the mythical figure of
Aeolus who was dubbed the ‘keeper of the winds’ in Homer’s
Odyssey. It might seem rather obscure to name a
dinosaur after this
figure, but it is actually in reference to the prevailing winds that
blow across Patagonia where the first specimen of Aeolosaurus
was found.
Aeolosaurus
has a close relationship with the titanosaur Gondwanatitan
which stems
from the fact that Gondwanatitan was named from a
species of
Aeolosaurus, A. faustoi.
Both of these titanosaurs have caudal
(tail) vertebrae that are both elongated and have neural spines that
angled anteriorly (towards the front of the animal when the vertebrae
are horizontally level). These special vertebrae have been proposed
to have formed to better support Aeolosaurus when
it reared up on its
hind legs granting this dinosaur an optionally bipedal stance when
feeding. Such a stance would have allowed Aeolosaurus
to reach higher
into the tree canopy and feed upon parts that were beyond the reach of
other dinosaurs without physically having to grow a longer neck for the
purpose.
Some
remains of Aeolosaurus have confirmed the presence
of osteoderms
(sometimes called scutes) which were bony lumps that grew in the
skin. These have been seen in some other titanosaurs and are thought
to have been for additional defence against predatory theropods which
in the case of Aeolosaurus may have included
abelisaurs
like
Abelisaurus
and Carnotaurus.
A
former species of Aeolosaurus, A. maximus,
was re-described as a
distinct genus, Arrudatitan,
in 2021.
Further reading
- The Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina part
VI—the titanosaurids. - Revista del Museo Argentina de Ciencias
Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion
de las Ciencias Naturales: Paleontolog�a 3(3):147-153 - J. E. Powell -
1987.
- El genero Aeolosaurus (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae)
en la formaci�n
Allen (Campaniano-Maastrichtiano) de la Provincia de R�o Negro,
Argentina. - Ameghiniana 30(2): 119-128 - L. Salgado & R. A.
Coria
- 1993.
- Presence of the genus Aeolosaurus (Sauropoda,
Titanosauridae) in the
Los Alamitos Formation (Late Cretaceous) of the R�o Negro Province.
Revista Guarulhos. - Geociencias 2(6): 44-49. - L. Salgado, R. A. Coria
& J. O. Calvo - 1997.
- Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda,
Titanosauria) de la
Formacion Bajo Barreal, Cretacico superior de Argentina." Revista
Brasileira de Paleontologia, 10(1): 53-62 - G. Casal, R. D. Martinez,
M. Luna, J. C. Sciutto & M. C. Lamanna - 2007.
- A new sauropod (Macronaria, Titanosauria) from the Adamantina
Formation, Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous of Brazil and the phylogenetic
relationships of Aeolosaurini. Zootaxa 3085:1-33 -
R. M. Santucci
&
A. C. D. Arruda-Campos - 2011.
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