Fun Austroposeidon Facts For Kids

The Austroposeidon is a genus of Sauropod dinosaur of the Titanosauria clade. It is an extinct genus found in the late Cretaceous period in Brazil. Only one type species is known of the species: the Austroposeidon magnificus. These giant dinosaur fossils were discovered in the Campanian-Maastrichtian Presidente Prudente formation of the Bauru Group in Brazil. The specimen of the Titanosaur was discovered in 1953 by paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price. Fossils were found in fine sandstone, so it was probably preserved by a crevasse splay on a floodplain. The specimen discovered of the dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period in Brazil consisted of cervical (neck), dorsal, and sacral vertebrae. It also included a cervical rib and one complete dorsal vertebra. The one known specimen proves that this is by far the biggest dinosaur found in the area with a length of around 82 ft (25 m).

If we break down the word Austroposeidon, we find that the genus name combines the word Austro, meaning southern from South America (comes from the Latin word Auster meaning the southern wind) and Poseidon which references the Greek God of Earthquakes. The species name magnificus in Austroposeidon magnificus means 'great, elevated, noble' referencing the giant size of the specimen. This Sauropod dinosaur from the Titanosauria and the Dinosauria clades was recovered as a sister taxon of the Lognkosauria in a phylogenetic analysis in 2016. These Titanosaurs lived around 70 million years ago in Brazilian jungles.

The specimen of this Titanosaur is displayed in the Earth Sciences Museum in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. We know paleontologists try and find dinosaur skeletons in many places, but getting a description of a species from elements kept in storage in a Brazilian museum is a bit of a shock. It is considered Brazil's largest dinosaur and fossils were kept in the storage of the museum for this long. More information has been given in "A New Giant Titanosauria (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Group, Brazil" by Medeiros Simbras, K.L.N Bandeira, E. Batista Machado, D. de Almeida Campos, G.R. Oliveira, and A.W.A. Kellner (2016).

For more relatable content, check out these Phuwiangosaurus facts and Aliwalia fun facts for kids.

How do you pronounce 'Austroposeidon'?

The pronunciation of the name Austroposeidon is 'Oss-tro-po-sy-don'.

What type of dinosaur was an Austroposeidon?

Austroposeidon dinosaurs were giant Sauropod Titanosaurs of the Dinosauria clade living in the late Cretaceous period. Only one species was found of Titanosaurs called Austroposeidon magnificus. Paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price first discovered this giant dinosaur of 82 ft (25 m) length in Brazil's Presidente Prudente formation. This area, however, is now damaged and unrecognizable due to urbanization.

In which geological period did the Austroposeidon roam the Earth?

These Titanosaurs were known to roam the planet in the late Cretaceous period.

When did the Austroposeidon become extinct?

We know these giant Titanosaurs lived around 70 million years ago. The Austroposeidon magnificus was not seen after the late Cretaceous period.

Where did an Austroposeidon live?

These dinosaurs were the largest found in Brazil. Remains of this group of dinosaurs were found in the Campanian-Maastrichtian Presidente Prudente formation of the Bauru Group. Elements were found in rocks of the formation near the town of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo State, south Brazil. The name Austroposeidon itself can be broken down into the following: Austro, which means southern as in South America (Brazil) and Poseidon, which is a Greek God. Austro also means south wind in Latin.

What was an Austroposeidon's habitat?

This biggest dinosaur found in Brazil probably used to live in forests and Brazil's high vegetation areas. The long neck helped it easily browse through high trees in terrestrial habitats they lived in.

Who did an Austroposeidon live with?

We don't know the company the largest dinosaur of Brazil used to keep. However, it might have lived in pairs or alone.

How long did an Austroposeidon live?

The life span of these Titanosaurs is not known. The group of bones and vertebra found is not enough to know the age of the species.

How did they reproduce?

We just know that the Austroposeidon magnificus was oviparous and laid eggs for reproducing. We don't know the number of eggs; however, dinosaurs usually laid around three to five eggs at a time and could also go up to 20 eggs.

What did an Austroposeidon look like?

The Austroposeidon magnificus, as the name suggests, was a Sauropod and was large in size. The dinosaur is even considered the largest dinosaur found in Brazil. However, only one specimen has been found, and looking at the size of the specimen, the length of this biggest dinosaur should be around 82 ft (25 m). The specimen found included parts of the neck (cervical), dorsal, and sacral vertebrae (including a cervical rib and one complete dorsal vertebra). Many traits point towards these dinosaurs being a part of Titanosaurs. The vertebra is missing dorsal vertebrae and cervical vertebrae are not seen with neural spines that are branched. Bones were punctuated by some small-sized air chambers. The genus was given a solitary status when based on different traits of found specimens. Brazil's museum in Rio still holds vertebrae we are talking about.

How many bones did an Austroposeidon have?

The Austroposeidon skeleton is not fully recovered, so the number of bones is not known. Vertebra and Titanosaur bones are on display in the Brazilian Earth Sciences Museum.

How did they communicate?

There is no information given to know the mode of communication of this species. However, dinosaurs usually communicated vocally or visually.

How big was an Austroposeidon?

The dinosaur is considered the biggest ever found in Brazil. Can you believe that fossils were kept locked in a museum until now due to lack of resources?

We know the length of these Titanosaurs can be expected to be around 82 ft (25 m) and the height can probably be between 19.68-26.24 ft (6-8 m).

How fast could an Austroposeidon move?

The speed is not known. Seeing the size of the species, they were probably not too quick and flashy!

How much did an Austroposeidon weigh?

The weight of the species has not been quantified.

What were the male and female names of the species?

We don't know if males and females of the species were given different names.

What would you call a baby Austroposeidon?

This information is not available.

What did they eat?

These were herbivorous dinosaurs and fed on plants and vegetation. Due to their enormous height, they could even browse through tall vegetation.

How aggressive were they?

They were probably not aggressive.

Did you know...

These dinosaurs were kept as a sister taxon of the Lognkosauria, found in a Phylogenetic analysis in 2016.

We don't know if they possessed sharp teeth.

What does the term Austroposeidon mean?

The description of the word Austroposeidon can be done in two parts: Austro means southern (South America) respecting the region in which it was found and Poseidon is the Greek God of Earthquakes, respecting the huge size of the species.

Was Austroposeidon the largest dinosaur?

It was the largest ever found in Brazil so far.

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 Nemegtosaurus facts, or Denversaurus fun facts for kids.

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

*We've been unable to source an image of an Austroposeidon and have used an image of a Nanshiungosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of an Austroposeidon, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].