Patagosaurus

Name: Patagosaurus ‭(‬Patagonian lizard‭).
Phonetic: Pat-ah-goe-sore-us.
Named By: Jos� Bonaparte‭ ‬-‭ ‬1979.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Sauropoda.
Species: P.‭ ‬fariasi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 15‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Argentina.
Time period: Callovian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Many individuals.




       Patagosaurus is one of the earliest sauropods known to have roamed South America,‭ ‬however it‭’‬s usually the Cretaceous genera such as Amargasaurus,‭ ‬Saltasaurus and Argentinosaurus that usually get all of the attention.‭ ‬At eighteen meters long Patagosaurus was big for‭ ‬a mid-Jurassic era sauropod,‭ ‬yet it was not as advanced as the sauropods that began appearing in the late Jurassic.‭ ‬Instead Patagosaurus is regarded as being a more basal sauropod that is similar to other such as the European/North African Cetiosaurus and the Indian Barapasaurus.‭ ‬In fact all three of these sauropods are sometimes included in the same group called the Cetiosauridae,‭ ‬however not all palaeontologists are convinced that these three sauropods should be placed so close together.

Further reading
- Dinosaurs: a Jurassic assemblage from Patagonia. - Science 205:1377-1378. - J. F. Bonaparte - 1979.
- A Dentary of Patagosaurus (Sauropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Patagonia. - Ameghiniana 40 (3): 425–32. - O. W. M. Rauhut - 2003.



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