In Depth
Argentinosaurus may well be the largest sauropod and by extension, dinosaur ever to live. Unfortunately only a few parts of the skeleton has been found so these have had to be compared with other more complete skeletons of different yet similar dinosaurs, with the closest match possibly being other titanosaurs such as Saltasaurus and Rapetosaurus. This has allowed for what are considered to be more accurate estimates for Argentinosaurus, but the exact size is still uncertain. Until more fossils of Argentinosaurus that fill the existing gaps can be found, we may never know the exact size for sure. One dinosaur that might actually have been much bigger than even Argentinosaurus is the potentially colossal Amphicoelias.
South America seems to have been an evolutionary cradle for dinosaurs. While the other great sauropods such as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus died out by the end of the Jurassic, the large South American sauropods like Argentinosaurus continued until well into the Cretaceous.
Argentinosaurus was not the only giant dinosaur to hail from South America, the large theropod carnivore Giganotosaurus that was larger than Tyrannosaurus, was also active at the same time and general location as Argentinosaurus.
Further Reading
– Un nuevo y gigantesco sauropodo titanosaurio de la Formacion Rio Limay (Albiano-Cenomaniano) de la Provincia del Neuquen, Argentina [A new and huge titanosaur sauropod from the Rio Limay Formation (Albian-Cenomanian) of Neuqu�n Province, Argentina] – J. Bonaparte & R. Coria – 1993. – Big Sauropods – Really, Really Big Sauropods – Gregory S. Paul – 1994. – Giants and Bizarres: Body Size of Some Southern South American Cretaceous Dinosaurs- Gerardo V. Mazzetta, Per Christiansen & Richard A. Fari�a – 2004. – Reinterpretation of the dorsal vertebrae of Argentinosaurus huinculensis (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae). Ameghiniana. 43 (4): 48–49R. – F. E. Novas & M. Ezcurra – 2006.
