Fun Amazonsaurus Facts For Kids

The early Amazonsaurus species belongs to the genus of a Diplodocoidea Sauropod dinosaur. It belonged to the early Cretaceous period and inhabited areas of South America. Dinosaurs that fall under the Diplodocoids genus had long necks and were some of the longest animals. The Amazonsaurus wasn't that big in size and was one of the smallest Diplodocoids.

Amazonsaurus skeleton fossils, including some back and tail vertebrae, ribs, and fragments of the pelvis, were found in the Itapecuru formation of Maranhao. This geological formation dates back to Aptian through Albian epochs of the early Cretaceous period, or about 125 to 100 million years ago. Fossils were recovered in sediments of floodplain deposits near a river delta.

These were not the only fossils found in Brazil, but they were the first to be excavated in the Amazon basin and therefore the dinosaur was given the name Amazonsaurus, which is kept after the Amazon basin.

Even though the Amazonsaurus maranhensis is categorized as a Diplodocoid dinosaur, it is hard to tell which kind due to lack of fossils.

Scroll down to read about the Amazonsaurus's life, what they fed on, their habits, and other exciting details! If you want to discover more like these Amazonsaurus facts, take a look at the Zigongosaurus and the Brachytrachelopan.

Amazonsaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Amazonsaurus'?

The name of this dinosaur species is pronounced as 'am-ah-zon-soh-rus'.

What type of dinosaur was an Amazonsaurus?

The Amazonsaurus maranhensis belonged to the genus of a Diplodocoidea Sauropod dinosaur. Even though the Amazonsaurus maranhensis is categorized as a Diplodocoid dinosaur, it is hard to tell which kind due to lack of fossils.

In which geological period did Amazonsaurus roam the Earth?

The Amazonsaurus (Amazon lizard) was from the early Cretaceous period and inhabited areas of what is now South America.

When did the Amazonsaurus become extinct?

Dinosaurs, in general, went extinct almost 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, after living on the Earth for about 165 million years. It was analyzed that this species went extinct during the late Cretaceous period, but more information needs to be found based on research to give proper information.

Where did the Amazonsaurus live?

The Amazonsaurus was a herbivore and therefore resided in areas with forests or dense vegetation. Their long neck and whiplash tail made it easier for them to feed on tall trees.

What was the Amazonsaurus' habitat?

It is not the only dinosaur that has been found in Brazil, but it is the first to be excavated in the Amazon basin of South America. Fossils of this species were found in the Itapecuru formation of Maranhao.

This geological formation dates back to the Aptian through Albian epochs of the early Cretaceous period, or about 125 to 100 million years ago. It was recovered in sediments of floodplain deposits near a river delta.

Who did the Amazonsaurus live with?

Fossil evidence points out from both the bone bed and trackways that Sauropods were gregarious animals who lived and moved in herds. Mostly all herbivorous dinosaurs stayed in herds to protect themselves from predators.

How long did an Amazonsaurus live?

There isn't a definite time frame of the Amazonsaurus's life span, but most Sauropods lived for almost 60-70 years and that is the only information on dinosaurs. The Amazonsaurus has very few fossils and therefore it is hard for researchers to determine the exact amount of time they lived for.

Until there is more research done, they can't make an estimation.

How did they reproduce?

Sauropod dinosaurs, much like other reptiles, mated with each other during the breeding season and in the case of this breed, the female Amazonsaurus laid eggs. Eggs hatched after a certain period of time and newborn dinosaurs came out. Adult dinosaurs took care of newborns until they could move with their parents or go along with their new family.

Amazonsaurus Fun Facts

What did the Amazonsaurus look like?

The Amazonsaurus was a large bodied quadrupedal dinosaur species with a long neck and whiplash tail. The Amazonsaurus (Amazon lizard) was almost 11,023 lb (5,000 kg) in weight and 473 in (12 m) in length.

It had a long tail. Tall neural spines on its tail vertebrae helped to identify the Amazonsaurus as a Diplodocoid Sauropod, but the fragmentary nature of the only known specimen makes it difficult to place the Amazonsaurus (Amazon lizard) within the superfamily of Diplodocoidea.

However, some features of these vertebrae suggest it may be a late surviving member of a line of basal Diplodocoids. Like any other Sauropods, it had a long neck and whiplash tail and smaller legs and body.

How many bones did an Amazonsaurus have?

These dinosaurs had longer necks and tails, which indicated that they had more cervicals. An average Sauropoda had between 11-19 cervicals.

It's quite difficult to predict or even research the number of bones a dinosaur had until proper fossils are excavated. The Amazonsaurus is one of those dinosaurs that is still being studied and has not been discovered fully, and therefore, finding the number of bones is difficult.

How did they communicate?

There is no specific mention of how they communicated, but they definitely didn't have modern means of communication. Like any other animal, dinosaurs also communicated by making sounds and using their body language.

They might have used hoots and hollers to communicate. The Amazonsaurus had a whiplash tail which could have been moved to sound like a whip hitting, which helped it to communicate.

How big was the Amazonsaurus?

The Amazonsaurus was almost 473 in (12 m) long, being a long-bodied Sauropoda dinosaur. The Amazonsaurus belonged to the Diplodocoidea species and was bigger than most Sauropoda dinosaurs. The bison is almost 110-181 in (3-5 m) and this makes the Amazon lizard almost three times bigger than the present day animal species.

How fast could an Amazonsaurus move?

The Amazonsaurus was a quadrupedal dinosaur which enabled it to have more control over its speed. Being a Diplodocoidea genus dinosaur, it was large bodied and its long neck and whiplash tail helped it to move faster through forested areas.

It was not as fast as camels, which are known to run at 40 mph (64.3 kph) in short bursts. For long periods, they can maintain a speed that is somewhere around 20-25 mph (32.1-40.2 kph).

How much did an Amazonsaurus weigh?

The Amazonsaurus maranhensis dinosaur was almost 11,023 lb (5,000 kg) in weight. Being large-bodied, its body weight was very high. The thresher shark was 500-775 lb (227-352 kg) in weight and this makes it almost four times lighter in weight than the dinosaur.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name for male or female dinosaurs of this species. They are commonly known as an Amazonsaurus or an Amazonsaurus maranhensis. Until there can be proper excavations of fossils, dinosaurs can't be named differently based on their sex.

What would you call a baby Amazonsaurus?

A newborn dinosaur was known as a hatchling or a nestling. This was common for most dinosaur species. There is no specific information on names of Amazonsaurus newborns as of now.

What did they eat?

The Amazonsaurus maranhensis diet consisted of plants and trees. They might have also fed on fruits and berries found in forests of the present day Amazon Basin.

Being high browsers, they swished through forests and didn't even have to move from one place and could reach far to feed on plants. These dinosaurs had long necks and tails and could easily reach tall trees and canopies for food.

How aggressive were they?

Based on research, dinosaurs are divided into two groups: Sauropods were herbivores and didn't attack each other or other dinosaurs, while Theropods were meat-eaters and attacked each other and other dinosaurs as well. The Amazonsaurus, being a Sauropod, was quite friendly and wasn't aggressive at all. It stayed together in harmony with other Sauropod dinosaurs.

Did you know...

Some features of the vertebrae of the Amazonsaurus suggest it might be a late surviving member of a line of basic or basal Diplodocoids. There is one clade based article published that shows that the Amazonsaurus species is much nearer to Rebbachisaurids, but it is basal to Dicraeosaurids and Diplodocoids within Diplodocoidea.

As it belonged to the early Cretaceous period and has very few fossils that have been found, it is quite difficult to point out its proper clade.

Why are they called Amazonsaurus?

It is not the only dinosaur that has been found in Brazil, but it is the first to be excavated from the Amazon basin location and therefore was given the name Amazonsaurus, which is kept after the Amazon basin.

Who discovered the Amazonsaurus?

Amazonsaurus bones were discovered by Brazil based paleontologists, Ismar de Souza Carvalho and Leonardo dos Santos Avilla of the Rio de Janeiro Federal University and their Argentine colleague Leonardo Salgado of the Comahue National University. They found remains of the dinosaur and stated that it belonged to the early Cretaceous period and inhabited the location of South America.

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 Bothriospondylus facts, or Chubutisaurus facts for kids pages.

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