Fun Argyrosaurus Facts For Kids

The Argyrosaurus superbus belonged to the genus Titanosaurian and was a Sauropod dinosaur. It lived almost 70 million years ago and it existed during the late Cretaceous period in what is now South America.

The only specimen remains of this breed were found in Argentina by Richard Lydekker in 1983.

The specimen that was discovered was a forelimb of the dinosaur species in the Chico River, which is a Campanian or Maastrichtian horizon in the Lago Colhue Huapi formation. It included the humerus, the ulna, the radius, and all five metacarpals.

When this fossil specimen was discovered, the forelimb was apparently part of a complete skeleton; however, during excavation, the rest of the remains were completely destroyed. In the same research paper, Lydekker assigned a partial left femur that was excavated from the Chubut province to this breed without any explanation.

He also assigned two caudal vertebrae centra that were excavated from the Santa Cruz province.

Other remains were also found, including other limb bones, a clavicle, a pubic bone, and some tail vertebrae that were referred to the same genus. In 1929, Fredrich Von Huene referred several bones to this genus, which were excavated from the Chubut province, the Santa Cruz province, the Neuquen province, and Uruguay.

Von Huene referred a complete right femur and left tibia to the Antarctosaurus, but it was tentatively referred to the Argyrosaurus in 2003 by Jaime Eduardo Powell.

Scroll down to read about the Aryrosaurus's life, what they fed on, their habits, and other exciting details! If you want to discover more like the Argyrosaurus, take a look at the Camelotia and the Abrosaurus.

Argyrosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Argyrosaurus'?

The name Argyrosaurus should be pronounced as 'ar-jy-ro-sor-us'.

What type of dinosaur was an Argyrosaurus?

The Argyrosaurus belonged to the new Titanosaur genus and was a herbivore Sauropoda dinosaur. It lived almost 70 million years ago and it existed during the late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina, South America. It also belongs to the Saurischia clade.

In which geological period did Argyrosaurus roam the Earth?

The Argyrosaurus superbus belonged to the late Cretaceous period in what is now South America. The late Cretaceous period lasted from about 145 to 65 million years ago.

When did the Argyrosaurus 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. This species lived during the late Cretaceous period that lasted from about 145 to 65 million years ago.

Where did the Argyrosaurus live?

The Argyrosaurus superbus was a terrestrial animal and stayed in woodlands and dense forests with trees and plants with abundant food sources. Even though dinosaur remains were found in South America, the land layout on Earth during the time of dinosaurs was quite different than it is now.

What was the Argyrosaurus' habitat?

The only specimen of the Argyrosaurus superbus breed was found on South American grounds, in Argentina, by Richard Lydekker in 1983. The specimen that was discovered was a forelimb of the dinosaur species in the Chico River, which is a Campanian or Maastrichtian horizon in the Lago Colhue Huapi formation.

Who did the Argyrosaurus live with?

Fossil evidence from the late Cretaceous period 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 Argyrosaurus live?

The Argyrosaurus superbus has very few fossils and therefore it is hard for researchers to find out the exact amount of time they lived for. Until there is more research done, they won't be able to even make an estimated guess.

Sauropods tended to live for almost 60-70 years and this is also an estimation and can vary depending on the kind of dinosaur.

How did they reproduce?

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

Argyrosaurus Fun Facts

What did the Argyrosaurus look like?

The Argyrosaurus superbus was a medium-sized Sauropod that was about 672 in (17 m) long and weighed up to 26,455 lb (12,000 kg) according to Paul.

However, Thomas Holtz gave a higher estimation of its features based on new excavation research. He estimated that the dinosaur was 1,104 in (28 m) in length and was at a weight of 95,901-111,995 lb (43,500-50,800 kg).

Recently, in a new research based article, it was stated that the dinosaur was 828 in (21 m) in length and weighed around 57,320 lb (25,945 kg).

The Argurosaurus skeleton was distinguished from other Titanosaurid Sauropoda dinosaurs because of its high and short vertebral arches.

The ulna and the radius were robust, and metacarpal bones were long similar to representatives of the Macaronia, which is a clade of the sub order Sauropodamorpha. The humerus of these dinosaurs showed a rectangular upper end that was quite similar to that of Titanosaurid dinosaurs: the Saltasaurus and the Opisthocoelicaudia.

It also had a pronounced bone spike at the upper end of the ulna which makes researchers sure that the Argyrosaurus superbus was a new Titanosaur breed.

How many bones did an Argyrosaurus have?

These Sauropoda dinosaurs had longer necks and tails, which almost indicated that they had more cervicals. An average Sauropod 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 Argyrosaurus is still one of those dinosaurs that is 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 communicated by making sounds and using their body language. They might have used hoots and hollers to communicate.

How big was the Argyrosaurus?

The Argyrosaurus size was about 828 in (21 m) in length. The whale shark is almost 217-393 in (6-10 m), which makes it almost three times smaller than the Argyrosaurus. Sauropods, especially those that belong to the Titanosaur genus, had long necks and tails which amounted to them having bigger structures. This also adds to the weight of dinosaurs.

How fast could an Argyrosaurus move?

The Argyrosaurus superbus was quite actively mobile, and being a quadrupedal dinosaur it had more control over its speed, but it couldn't run fast due to its weight.

How much did an Argyrosaurus weigh?

The Argyrosaurus superbus weighed almost 57,320 lb (25,945 kg). This makes it almost three times heavier than the Borneo Elephant which weighs 6,500-11,000 lb (3,000-5,000 kg).

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 the Argyrosaurus or the Argyrosaurus superbus. Until there can be proper excavations of fossils, dinosaurs can't be named differently based on their sex.

What would you call a baby Argyrosaurus?

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

What did they eat?

The Argyrosaurus superbus diet consisted of plants and trees. They might have also fed on fruits and berries found in forests of present-day Argentina.

Being high browsers, they swished through forests and didn't have to move from one place as they could reach far to feed on plants due to their long features. 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. The Argyrosaurus, being a sauropod, was quite friendly and wasn't aggressive at all. They stayed together in harmony with other Sauropod dinosaurs.

Did you know...

There were numerous remains that had been referred to be fossils of the Argyrosaurus, but in 2012, Philip Mannion and Alejandro Otero considered the first remains as the only fossil belonging to the silver lizard.

Many of the referred specimens either have no overlapping material, lack key features, or were not illustrated making it not possible to assign them without being restudied.

They had also considered one of the referred specimens that were found, a partial skeleton, to be its own genus which they called the Elaltitan.

Why are they called the Argyrosaurus?

This dinosaur breed is named the Argyrosaurus as the fossil specimen was excavated from Argentina. The genus name is in Greek. 'Argyros' means silver and 'sauros' means lizard, which combined means a silver lizard. Argentina is known as the silver land.

Who discovered the Argyrosaurus?

The only specimen of the Argyrosaurus superbus breed was found in Argentina by Richard Lydekker in 1983. The specimen that was discovered was a forelimb of the dinosaur species in the Chico River, in Argentina on South American ground, which is a Campanian or Maastrichtian horizon in the Lago Colhue Huapi formation.

It included the humerus, the ulna, the radius, and all five metacarpals.

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 borealosaurus facts, or janenschia facts for kids.

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