Antarctosaurus (/ænˌtɑrktɵˈsɔrəs/; meaning "southern lizard") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. The type species, A. wichmannianus, was described by prolific German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1929, who also described a second species in 1929. Three additional species of Antarctosaurus have been named since then. Later studies indicate that none of these pertain to Antarctosaurus.
Antarctosaurus was very large, even for a sauropod. Scientists still have much to learn about Antarctosaurus, as a complete skeleton remains elusive.
Description[]
Antarctosaurus was a huge quadrupedal herbivore with a long neck and tail. It was possibly armoured. As Antarctosaurus is not known from a complete skeleton[1] and tail lengths are highly variable among sauropods, the true size of these animals is hard to extrapolate. The type species may have been over 60 feet (18 meters) long, and a second species may have been one of the largest land animals ever. Antarctosaurus may have been as tall as 15 feet at the shoulder.
Etymology[]
Remains of this dinosaur were first mentioned in print in 1916, although they were not fully described and named until a 1929 manuscript written by paleontologist Friedrich von Huene.[2] Antarctosaurus does not refer to the continent of Antarctica, since it was first found in Argentina, although it does have the same derivation, from the Greek words αντι-, anti- meaning 'opposite of', αρκτός, arktos meaning 'north' and σαυρος, sauros meaning 'lizard'. The generic name refers to the animal's reptilian nature and its geographical location on a southern continent.