Futalognkosaurus

Futalognkosaurus (/ˌfuːtəlɒŋkɵˈsɔrəs/;[1] meaning "giant chief lizard") is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur. The herbivorous[2] Futalognkosaurus lived approximately 87 million years ago in the Portezuelo Formation of the Coniacian stage of the late Cretaceous Period. The fish and fossilized leaf debris on the site, together with other dinosaur remains, suggest a warm tropical climate in Patagonia during this period.

Discovery
Its fossils were found in the Neuquén province of Argentina in 2000, and were scientifically described in 2007. The genus name is derived from the local indigenous language Mapudungun and is pronounced foo-ta-long-koh-sohr-us: "futa" means "giant" and "lognko" means "chief".[3] It is based on three fossil specimens, yielding an estimated 70% of the skeleton in total. The fossil team described the find as "the most complete giant dinosaur known so far".

Description
The type species, Futalognkosaurus dukei, is estimated to be 26 m (85 ft) ~34 m (111 ft) in length,[4] rivaling the gigantic Argentinosaurus. Its long neck contained 14 vertebrae, and was over a meter deep in places, due to its extremely tall neural spines which had a distinctive "shark-fin" shape. The hips were also extremely large and bulky, reaching a width of nearly 3 metres (9.8 ft).[5] The alternate early spelling "Futalongkosaurus" may be found in some press reports and on websites.