Fun Bonitasaura Facts For Kids

Bonitasaura (Bonitasaura salgadoi) is among one of the smallest titanosaurian dinosaurs growing 30 ft (9 m) in total length and could extend about 9.8 ft (3 m) tall, these creatures lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, 85 million years ago.

It possessed a short neck unlike other sauropods species and their dorsal vertebrae had high robust neural spines pointing out strong muscular attachments, which means that these creatures were still able to browse for high up and feed on the tree canopy.

The genus name was given after the La Bonita Quarry in the year 2004 where partial sub-adult holotype remains were found and the species name B.‭ ‬salgadoi was given in the honor of Leonardo Salgado, the Argentine paleontologist. The remains which were found included a skull with lower jaw with teeth, partial vertebrae series, and limb bones.

These were notable as most of the titanosaur community skulls were separated from their large bodies as they were decomposing.

The lower jaw had a ridge behind the peg-like teeth covered with beak-like keratin. It is believed that a similar structure was also on the upper jaw which helped them in chopping the food.

If you liked these true facts about the Bonitaaura, then you'll surely like these facts about Zuniceratops and Heterodontosaurus too!

Bonitasaura Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Bonitasaura'?

This Titanosaurian dinosaur is pronounced as 'Bon-it-a-sore-rah'.

What type of dinosaur was a Bonitasaura?

Bonitasaura was one among the diverse groups of Sauropod dinosaur known as Titanosaur that was alive during the Late Cretaceous period in  Bajo de la Carpa Formation of the eastern Neuquén Basinn, Patagonia, Argentina.

In which geological period did the Bonitasaura roam the earth?

Bonitosaura were considered to belong to the Ladinian stage of the uppermost layers of the late cretaceous period around 70-86 million years ago.

When did the Bonitasaura become extinct?

Bonitosaura became extinct during the late cretaceous period around 86 million years ago.

Where did a Bonitasaura live?

The remains of the Bonitasaura salgadoi were discovered from the late cretaceous period from the late cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation, located in Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina.

What was a Bonitasaura's habitat?

The Bonitasaura habitat is unknown as they went extinct during the late cretaceous period along with other genera that are close relatives and not much content is available to make estimations.

Who did a Bonitasaura live with?

Due to the lack of data, it is unknown whether the Bonitasaura lived alone, in pairs, or in groups. As the skeleton of these specimens that were found from the late cretaceous period in Argentina, it indicates that these creatures lived in small groups of two to three individuals.

How long did a Bonitasaura live?

The exact lifespan of the Bonitasaura dinosaurs is unknown to the world as they went extinct from the face of the earth millions of years ago. The exact Bonitasaura extinction date is still unknown.

How did they reproduce?

Due to the extinction of the Bonitasaura and lack of information about their reproduction, it is difficult to know they mate, but it is believed that the specimen lays eggs like most other dinosaurs with regards to the fossil remains discoveries.

Bonitasaura Fun Facts

What did a Bonitasaura look like?

Bonitasaura was a giant creature but when it was compared to other related to the Titanosaur community it was the fairly small-sized genus that lived during the late cretaceous period in Argentina.

The sub-adult skeleton that was found indicated that the specimen still had some time to attain their maturity and could have grown much more. When compared to other Titanosaur species, Bonitasaura had a relatively short neck but had a stocky body.

The dorsal vertebrae of these specimens had high and robust neural spines, and these spines suggested a strong muscular extension, helping these creatures to feed on the tree canopy.

The skull that was found had a lower jaw with teeth which was similar to a sauropod known as the diplodocid, the lower jaw consisted of the teeth towards the back and the front was a ridge.

*We've been unable to source an image of Bonitasaura and have used an image of Saltasaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Bonitasaura, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.

How many bones did a Bonitasaura have?

The Bonitasaura holotype skeleton was found from the uppermost layers of the late cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation, located in Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The remains of this creature consist of a partial sub-adult disorganized in small regions of the fluvial sandstone, a lower jaw with teeth, partial vertebrae sequence, and limb bones.

How did they communicate?

Due to the lack of data, the communication process of the Bonitasaura is still unknown. Though, it is known that sauropods were shy and conservative creatures.

How big was a Bonitasaura?

Bonitasaura was a family member of large-sized titanosaurs that were found in Río Negro province and they obtain a total body length of 30 ft (9 m) and a body height of 9 ft (3 m).

How fast could a Bonitasaura move?

Due to the lack of data, it is unfeasible to point out the accurate moving speed of the Bonitasaura. Though it is known that these species were large and heavy who walked on all four legs could not move fast they were slow grazers.

How much did a Bonitasaura weigh?

These titanosaurian dinosaurs who hailed from Argentina were large in size and could have weighed around 40,000 lb (18,143.6 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

No specific name has been assigned or allotted to either sex of this genus.

What would you call a baby Bonitasaura?

A baby bonitasaura is called a baby dinosaur as there is no specific name assigned to them.

What did they eat?

Bonitasaura was herbivorous in nature, their food mostly consists of the leaves, and flowers from the nearby forests that were present during the late Cretaceous period in South America.

How aggressive were they?

Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to say whether this animal was an aggressive or a peaceful creature.

Did you know...

Bonitasaura genus is a type species in which the name of the genus is considered to be indelibly associated with the taxonomy. The shape of the Bonitasaura skull differs from other Titanisaurs who had long and low skulls.

Another name given to these species is the La Bonita Lizard, as they were found in the year 2004 from the La Bonita Quarry from the uppermost layers of the Bajo de la Carpa Formation of the Río Negro Province.

Both Apesteguía and Gallina worked on the incomplete skull of the Bonitasaura, which was only bits and pieces like an osteological puzzle. Once all the pieces were put together it was found that these creatures had a skull that was short from front to back and a square-shaped muzzle dilated to the sides.

According to the original description, these dinosaurs did not possess any beak-like hadrosaur or a parrot, but they had a casing of keratin behind their teeth in the jaw.

What does Bonitasaura mean?

The Bonitasaura name meaning of this genus was derived from the fossil quarry La Bonita, and the scientific name of this genus Bonitasaura salgadoi gives homage to a well renowned Argentine paleontologist, Leonardo Salgado.

Who discovered the Bonitasaura?

In the year 2004, Bonitasaura was initially classified as a family member of the titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs on the ground of their skulls being similar to the member of the diplodocid family. Later on paleontologists Sebastián Apesteguía and Pablo Gallina reclassified this species among the members that includes Rinconsauria and Lognkosauria.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Puertasaurus facts, or Crichtonsaurus facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable singing dinosaur coloring pages.

Image one by T. Tischler, Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.