Fun Gondwanatitan Facts For Kids

The Gondwanatitan was a genus of moderate-sized dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous period. It was a type of Sauropod dinosaur that lived in the southern supercontinent called Gondwana.

Gondwana comprised the continents of South America and Africa. The name titan in the name Gondwanatitan might suggest a dinosaur of large size, but they were actually quite modest in length in comparison to other related species. The word titan rather indicates the classification of the dinosaur as one of the Titanosaurids.

The Gondwanatitan type specimen was discovered for the first time in the late 20th century. Its fossils were recovered in 1983 from the farm of Yoshitoshi Myzobuchi in Sao Paulo, located in Brazil.

The excavation process of the specimen started in 1984 and lasted for two years. It was not until 1997 that the preparation work for describing the discovered specimen started earnestly.

In 1999, Kellner and De Azevedo studied the type species Gondwanatitan faustoi, formally described them, and brought them in front of the whole world. To know more about these dinosaurs, keep on reading these amazing facts.

For similar content, check out Chungkingosaurus facts and Ichthyovenator facts too.

Gondwanatitan Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce Gondwanatitan?

The name Gondwanatitan is pronounced gond-wah-nah-tie-tan. It can be broken down into two meaningful words, Gondwana titan.

What type of dinosaur was a Gondwanatitan?

The Gondwanatitan was a type of Sauropod dinosaur that came into existence during the middle part of the late Cretaceous epoch. They are now regarded as Titanosaurids, but for a short time, they were included under the closest relative genus Aeolosaurus.

However, this confusion was cleared soon, and they have transferred back to the Gondwana genus from the Aeolosaurus. However, the Aeolosaurus still remains the closest relative of the Gondwanatitan faustoi.

Apart from the Aeolosaurus, they are also closely related to some other genera like the Overosaurus and the Pitekunsaurus. Their vertebrae resemble that of the Venenosaurus and the Cedarosaurus.

In which geological period did the Gondwanatitan roam the Earth?

The Gondwanatitan was a Sauropod that was present during the middle part of the Cretaceous epoch. They came into existence probably around 70 million years ago and lived up to 66 million years ago.

At that time, the Campanian stage of the late Cretaceous period was going on. It is believed they were found roaming around on Earth during the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian geological periods.

When did the Gondwanatitan become extinct?

The precise time when the Gondwanatitan actually became extinct is not known. It is believed that they lived during the middle part of the stage and existed approximately 70-66 million years ago.

Where did a Gondwanatitan live?

The Gondwana lived in the supercontinent Gondwana during the middle part of the later Cretaceous age. Gondwana was a southern supercontinent that included Africa and South America. The Gondwanatitan lived in the South American range of Gondwana, including places like Brazil. At present, their fossils are preserved in a museum.

What was a Gondwanatitan's habitat?

The Gondwanatitan habitat is described as terrestrial. Terrestrial habitats can range from forests to shorelines, but the type of habitat Gondwanatitans actually inhabited is unknown.

Who did a Gondwanatitan live with?

The Gondwanatitan was a Sauropod. Their fossils were not found in bone beds. Whether they lived in herds or alone is not known.

How long did a Gondwanatitan live?

The span of time that the Gondwanatitan lived on Earth has not been determined precisely. They lived during the middle ages of the later Cretaceous period. Some scientists believe they lived from 70 to 66 million years ago, which means they existed for four million years.

How did they reproduce?

Similar to other dinosaur species, the Gondwanatitan also reproduced by laying eggs. In science, it is not possible to conclude reproductive characteristics of an animal from remaining fossil materials. Therefore, the data regarding their breeding methods are missing.

Gondwanatitan Fun Facts

What did a Gondwanatitan look like?

The Gondwanatitan is a type of medium to small-sized Sauropod whose remains were found in 1999. Physical characteristics of the genus are collected from the type species.

They had aligned vertebrae formation as well as neural spines. Their limb bones were gracile or slender and long in nature; caudal vertebrae of the species look unique. One of this dinosaur's unique characteristics includes that caudal vertebrae were aligned in a heart shape.

This type of caudal vertebrae is missing in the Aeolosaurus. The difference in the shape of caudal vertebrae shape helps in the distinction of G. faustoi. Neural spines were angled anteriorly.

The middle tail vertebrae's neural spines look like they were angled anteriorly. Their vertebrae resemble that of the Aeolosaurus.

How many bones did a Gondwanatitan have?

The number of bones present in a Gondwanatitan is not known. They are only known from the partial postcranial skeleton.

How did they communicate?

Like all dinosaurs, a Gondwanatitan possibly communicated by vocalizations.

How big was a Gondwanatitan?

The Gondwanatitan size ranged between 9.8-13.1 ft (3-4 m). Their height was 9.8 ft (3 m). They were twice the size of the Alvarezsaurus.

How fast could a Gondwanatitan move?

The speed at which they moved is not known.

How much did a Gondwanatitan weigh?

The average weight of a Gondwanatitan was 2,204.6 lb (1,000 kg).

What were male and female names of the species?

Male and female dinosaurs of this species do not have any specific names. Both of them are referred to as Gondwanatitan.

What would you call a baby Gondwanatitan?

A baby Gondwanatitan is referred to as a nestling or a hatchling.

What did they eat?

The Gondwanatitan diet included plant matters; they were herbivorous in nature.

How aggressive were they?

The aggression of these dinosaurs was less than the aggression of other big-sized flesh eaters.

Did you know...

In 2001, the species of Gondwanatitan was shifted under the genus Aeolosaurus, but this transfer lasted for a very short while. At that time, Gondwanatitan was used as a synonym for the Aeolosaurus genus.

However, this shift lasted for a brief span of time; G. faustoi transferred back to its original genus from the Aeolosaurus. Since then, the Aeolosaurus has been regarded as a separate classification.

How did the Gondwanatitan get its name?

The name Gondwanatitan can be easily broken into two words: Gondwana titan. The name Gondwana is in reference to the genus' South American range in the southern supercontinent Gondwana.

The name titan has two explanations behind it. In Greek mythology, the term titan has classical reference. In a more realistic sense, titan refers to the actual classification of the dinosaur.

Their classification under the family Titanisauridae might be a possible reason for giving them this name. The only type species that has been recovered currently is called G. faustoi. This name is given in honor of the former curator Dr. Fausto L. de Souza Cunha.

Fausto was the one who took the initiative in excavating the specimen from the Adamantina formation of Brazil in 1983. The Gondwanatitan faustoi, formally described as a Titanosaurid in 1999, has been assigned as a Sauropod of the Cretaceous period.

Who discovered the Gondwanatitan?

The Gondwanatitan fossil was recovered from the Adamantina formation of South America. The type specimen was excavated from Brazil. In 1983, the fossil of this species was found for the first time.

A former curator of Museu Nacional/UFRJ named Dr. Fausto L. de Souza Cunha led the excavation venture for this dinosaur. In 1999, Kellner and De Azevedo described the type species Gondwanatitan faustoi. Since 1999, information related to this dinosaur species began to be discovered, all of which helped in describing the dinosaur more accurately.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures by reading our Rahonavis facts or our Yinlong facts for kids.

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