Fun Abydosaurus Facts For Kids

Several million years ago, dinosaurs occupied the earth. People believed dinosaurs were carnivores until the discovery of the first herbivorous dinosaur in 1822. Since then, several plant-eating dinosaurs have been discovered. Abydosaurus mcintoshi is one such giant herbivorous dinosaur whose fossils were discovered by a group of students and some paleontologists in 2010 from the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah in Cedar Mountain Formation. It was first described by two paleontologists, D. J. Chure and B. B. Britt. Abydosaurus was the first sauropod to have a complete skull. It had an extremely long neck that kind of looked like a giraffe. It was able to reach treetops and plants on a high platform very easily. Despite being in the same sauropod group as the Cramarasaurus, it is somehow closely related to a well-known dinosaur from the late Jurassic era, the Brachiosaurus. Their fossils were found in a quarry near the Dinosaur National Monument, Brigham Young University Museum of Paleontology.

Did you like what you've read so far? Continue reading to learn more interesting information about Abydosaurus height, Abydosaurus size, and Abydosaurus diet. Don't forget to check out our other articles on the Thotobolosaurus and Quaesitosaurus.

How do you pronounce 'Abydosaurus'?

Abydosaurus was first discovered by a team of students from Brigham Young University and some paleontologists from the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. It is pronounced as 'Ah-bee-dos-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was an Abydosaurus?

The Abydosaurus is a brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur. Sauropods were the largest group of dinosaurs.

In which geological period did the Abydosaurus roam the earth?

The Abydosaurus walked on earth during the Albian to Cenomanian age of the Cretaceous period (Cedar mountain formation). The Albian is the earliest or highest subgroup in the Early Cretaceous era (also knows as the Lower Cretaceous period). The Albian epoch is followed by the Cenomanian epoch. The Cenomanian age is the first of the Late Cretaceous epoch (also known as the Upper Cretaceous era.) Alcide d'Orbigny, a French paleontologist, first mentioned the Cenomanian epoch in scholarly literature in 1847 and  A. d'Orbigny coined the word Albian in 1842.

When did the Abydosaurus become extinct?

The Abydosaurus became extinct after the Cenomanian age. This age is said to have had a minor extinction. One of the extinction theories is that this period probably faced a significant carbon disturbance. This was accompanied by a few additional related disruptions in oceanic oxygen and sulfur levels. Volcanic eruptions beneath the oceans must have boosted the crystal output, which was the greatest in 100 million years. As a result of the thickening of the oceanic crust, larger quantities of carbon dioxide were emitted. The bulk of the species, including the Abydosaurus, must have suffered from oxygen deprivation and faced extinction.

Where did Abydosaurus live?

The Abydosaurus lived in the Cedar Mountain Formation in North America. Their fossils were excavated from certain areas in Colorado and from the Carnegie quarry in the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah.

What was the Abydosaurus' habitat?

Since the Abydosaurus was a herbivore, it preferred to dwell in areas with dense vegetation and thickets where the food was abundant. It would have lived in woodland areas near water bodies such as lakes and small streams. It had a fondness for ferns and would have occupied moist environments.

Who did the Abydosaurus live with?

Based on the connection with other comparable species, like the Brachiosaurus from the late Jurassic period, it is suggested that the Abydosaurus must not have had a hard time living in groups. However, the groupings would have either been small or medium-sized. This dinosaur lived with other species such as Brontomerus, Venenosaurus, and Cedarosaurus. It is highly likely that these species shared the same habitat.

How long did an Abydosaurus live?

The Abydosaurus lived 109 million years ago to 93.5 million years ago. The lifespan of this brachiosaurid sauropod is not known.

How did they reproduce?

 The Abydosaurus, just like all other dinosaurs, must have reproduced by laying eggs.

What did Abydosaurus look like?

The Abydosaurus was a sauropod dinosaur of modest size. It featured a high rectangular head that was smaller when compared to the body. The nose was protruding and a little pointy. This trait made it easier for this dinosaur to pick up food from elevated places. It resembled the Giraffatitan and Brachiosaur. It also had a long neck and well-built legs. This dinosaur had teeth that were narrow and razor-sharp.

How many bones did an Abydosaurus have?

With the information available, determining the number of bones is difficult. Lower jaws, four skulls out of which two had complete skull bones, and four neck vertebrae were found. At the same location, several skull and postcranial bones, as well as a partial hip and related tail vertebrae, a shoulder blade, an upper arm bone, and hand bones were also found.

How did they communicate?

Since the snout was pointed and protruded way too much, this must have been used to make amplified noises. They probably emitted loud hoot-like noises. They possessed long necks which must have helped them communicate across vast distances. They would not have utilized any complex visual or vocal gestures as they were not that intelligent.

How big were the Abydosaurus'?

The fossils have revealed that the length of an Abydosaurus adult dinosaur might have been as long a 50 ft (15.24 m) and the juvenile was found to be around 25 ft (7.6 m) including the neck and tail. Their shoulder height was 18 ft (5.48 m).

How fast could an Abydosaurus move?

Given the weight, this dinosaur must have been slow. Though it was bipedal it was also capable of walking on four legs. Above all, it did not have the need to move faster as this was compensated by other swirling body and tail movements to protect itself and juveniles from predators.

How much did an Abydosaurus weigh?

This dinosaur was pretty heavy, it weighed around 10-20 ton (9017-18143 kg). It was almost 20 times heavier than Gnathovorax.

What were the male and female names of the species?

Male and female dinosaurs do not have any specific names. They are collectively known as Abydosaurus.

What would you call a baby Abydosaurus?

A baby dinosaur can either be called a chick or hatchling.

What did they eat?

From Abydosaurus teeth, it is evident that this giant dinosaur was a herbivore. Its diet mainly consisted of leaves, it also ate fruits and seeds from the top of trees. The long neck of this species made it easy to reach the leaves and twigs on treetops without having to break a sweat. It probably ate all kinds of plant materials including ferns.

Despite its large size, it was threatened by a group of even larger dinosaurs including the Utahraptor, a dromaeosaurid, and Acrocanthosaurus, a carcharodontosaurid. Both of these dinosaurs hunted juvenile Abydosaurus, which were not difficult to capture.

How aggressive were they?

They were one of the few dinosaurs that were not aggressive. Despite having all efficient bodily components, like sharp teeth and claws, they avoided aggressive actions. Aside from defending their offspring from predators and the occasional struggle over territory among their peers, these sauropods had no history of violence.

Did you know...

Two skull bones were complete as it was rotated when it was buried. This minimized the damage to the skull fossils.

This dinosaur is a polyphyodont just like most animals.

The Abydosaurus is one of the very few sauropods known from complete skull material. This dinosaur could not have been very intelligent due to its comparatively small head and brain size.

The neck and skull bones of this species are almost indistinguishable.

Their specimens were found only 1200 ft (365.76 m) away from the late Jurrasic Carnegie quarry in the Morrison Formation, Utah.

Despite living 45 million years apart, two species, Abydosaurus and Giraffatitan have very similar skulls.

Why are they called Abydosaurus?

Daniel Chure and his colleagues first described and gave the name Abydosaurus to this dinosaur. The genus name alludes to Egyptian mythology. The name means 'Abydos lizard'. Abydos is the Greek name for a city on the Nile where Osiris' heads and necks were buried. The holotype of Abydosaurus, skull, and neck were discovered in the cliffs of the Green River. This is how this dinosaur got its name. The Abydosaurus mcintoshi was named after John S.  McIntosh, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Wesleyan University, and his contributions to the study of sauropod dinosaurs.

Would the Abydosaurus bite?

They were not hostile animals and avoided activities that involved violence. They would bite if absolutely required, such as while protecting themselves and their young ones from large predators or when engaging in territorial conflicts. The razor-sharp teeth of these sauropods indicate that they mainly used their teeth for cutting through plants and very rarely inflict harm on other creatures.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Analong facts and Efraasia facts for kids.

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

Main image by Noby Tamura

Second image by Nobu Tamura