   #copyright

Saltasaurus

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Dinosaurs

   iSaltasaurus

                        Fossil range: Late Cretaceous

                  Conservation status

   Extinct (fossil)
               Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Sauropsida
   Superorder: Dinosauria
   Order:      Saurischia
   Suborder:   Sauropodomorpha
   Infraorder: Sauropoda
   (unranked)  Titanosauria
   Family:     Saltasauridae
   Genus:      Saltasaurus

                                Binomial name

   Saltasaurus loricatus
   Bonaparte & Powell, 1980

   Saltasaurus (which means "lizard from Salta") was a sauropod dinosaur
   of the Late Cretaceous Period. Relatively small among sauropods, though
   still massive by human standards, it was characterized by a
   diplodocid-like head (with blunt teeth, only in the back of the mouth)
   and was the first discovered with small bony plates embedded in its
   skin. The bony plates (a form of armour called osteoderms) have since
   been found in other titanosaurids, and a crest of scutes has also been
   discovered, running down the back of diplodocids. When the plates of a
   saltosaur were originally found, independently of skeletal remains,
   they were assumed to be from an ankylosaurian, whose plates they
   resemble.

   The word "Saltasaurus" is occasionally spelled "Saltosaurus", even by
   palaeontologists. The Saltasaurus may also be confused with Saltopus,
   because of the similarity between their names, although the two genera
   are quite unlike one another.

Fact summary

   Saltasaurus was first described by José Bonaparte and Jaime E. Powell,
   in 1980 and had an estimated length of 12 metres (39 feet) and a mass
   of 7 tonnes (8 tons). Like all sauropods, Saltasaurus was purely
   herbivorous and is thought to have been able to rear up on its hind
   legs, to reach higher branches. The name "Saltasaurus" is taken from
   the region of north-west Argentina, where the first fossils were
   recovered. Other fossils have since been found in Uruguay.

   There is currently only one known species of Saltasaurus, S. loricatus.
   S. robustus is no longer considered a distinct species, and S.
   australis is now considered to be a separate genus, the Neuquensaurus.
   The fossils of Saltasaurus include vertebrae, limb bones and several
   jaw bones — plus various pieces of armour. Some of these plates appear
   to have spikes as well, but there is not enough evidence available to
   be certain.

Changing perceptions

   In the Cretaceous Period, sauropod dinosaurs in North America were
   losing the survival game to duck-billed dinosaurs, such as
   Edmontosaurus. However, like modern Australia, South America was an
   island continent and life evolved rather differently there.
   Specifically, the duck-billed dinosaurs never gained a foothold and so
   sauropods, specifically the titanosaurids, continued down their own
   path of evolution. (See also: allopatric speciation.)

   Saltasaurus was one such highly-evolved sauropod and lived 70 to 65
   million years ago. When it was first discovered, in 1980, it forced
   palaeontologists to reconsider many of their assumptions about what was
   and what was not a sauropod because Saltasaurus, although clearly a
   sauropod, had armour plating. Previously, it had been assumed that size
   alone was sufficient defence for the massive sauropods.

   However, a Saltasaurus was discovered covered with bony knobs, 10 to 12
   centimetres (4 to 5 inches) in diameter. Since then, palaeontologists
   have investigated the possibility that other sauropods may also have
   had armour; for example, the Argentinian Laplatasaurus.

Eggs?

   A large titanosaur nesting ground was discovered in 1997, by Luis
   Chiappe and his team, near Auca Mahuevo, in Patagonia, Argentina. The
   small eggs, about 11 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 inches) in diameter,
   contained fossilised embryos, complete with skin impressions (although
   there was no indication of feathers or dermal spines). These eggs may
   have belonged to Saltasaurus.

   Apparently several hundred females dug holes, laid their eggs and then
   buried them under dirt and vegetation. This gives evidence of herd
   behaviour, which, along with their armour, may have been a defence
   against large predators like the Abelisaurus.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltasaurus"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
