Amargasaurus Facts for Kids

A Picture of a Amargasaurus
  • Species Type: Amargasaurus cazaui
  • Type of Dinosaur: Sauropod
  • Period: Early Cretaceous
  • Diet: Vegetation (herbivorous)
  • Length: Between 30 and 33 feet
  • Weight: 2.8 tons (average)
  • First Discovered: 1984

19 Amargasaurus Facts for Kids

  1. The Amargasaurus was discovered by Guillermo Rougier in 1984.
  2. The Amargasaurus was discovered in the La Amarga Formation (Argentina, South America).
  3. The Amargasaurus got its scientific name Amargasaurus cazaui in 1991, from Leonardo Salgado and Jose Bonaparte.
  4. The name Amargasaurus means: “La Amarga lizard”.
  5. The name Amargasaurus is pronounced: “ah-MAR-guh-SAWR-us”.
  6. The Amargasaurus was part of a group of dinosaurs known as sauropods.
  7. Amargasaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous Period, between 129.4 and 122.46 million years ago.
  8. Paleontologists only recognize one species of Amargasaurus and that is Amargasaurus cazaui.
  9. The Amargasaurus was an herbivore that ate vegetation and paleontologists believe the Amargasaurus fed on vegetation from trees.
  10. Estimates put the average length of an Amargasaurus between 30 and 33 feet.
  11. Estimates put the average weight of an Amargasaurus around 2.8 tons.
  12. The Amargasaurus was a large dinosaur but is still considered small of a sauropod.
  13. The Amargasaurus is most recognizable by the two rows of spines that ran down its neck and back.
  14. Paleontologists don’t know what the purpose of the spines were on the Amargasaurus.
  15. Paleontologists don’t know if the spines on the Amargasaurus were covered in a layer of skin or exposed bare.
  16. Paleontologists think the spines on the Amargasaurus might have been used as a defense against predators, to absorb heat from the sun, a way to recognize each other, a display used in courtship or used to make loud noises.
  17. There has only been one recovered fossil of an Amargasaurus and that is specimen number MACN-N 15.
  18. The recovered Amargasaurus specimen MACN-N 15 was almost entirely complete.
  19. The Amargasaurus walked on all four legs (quadrupedal) and paleontologists don’t believe it was able to stand up (rear) on its hind legs.

Additional Resources on Amargasaurus

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