Fun Puertasaurus Facts For Kids

Puertasaurus was a genus consisting of extremely large herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous. It consists of a single species, P. reuili. This dinosaur was discovered by Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil in 2001 in Cerro Fortaleza Formation situated in the Santa Cruz Province of Patagonia, Argentina. It was then later named and described by Fernando Novas and his colleagues in 2005. According to Novas, the name of the genus, Puertasaurus, and species, P. reuili, is a reference to Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, who discovered the dinosaur. This dinosaur is known from only a few bones, which include a cervical or neck vertebra, a dorsal or back vertebra, and two caudal or tail vertebrae. However, scientists have been able to find out a lot about it by comparing its vertebrae with that of other sauropods. Its dorsal vertebra has been found to be very broad, which indicates that this dinosaur would have had a very large rib cage, and been the widest of all dinosaurs belonging to the clade Titanosauria, if not the biggest in length. The neck was also reported to be quite long with neck vertebrae arranged in a way that would have allowed it to move its neck more than other similar sauropods, which would have helped it gain access to higher trees for its food. Keep reading to learn more fun facts about this giant Titanosaur!

If you want to look at more interesting articles about dinosaurs, check out our Ichthyovenator fun facts and Chungkingosaurus interesting facts for kids pages.

How do you pronounce 'Puertasaurus'?

Puertasaurus can be phonetically pronounced as "Pwer-tah-sore-us".

What type of dinosaur was a Puertasaurus?

Puertasaurus was a sauropod dinosaur, belonging to the clade Titanosauria. Within this clade, it belongs to the group Lognkosauria. Members of this group are often characterized by their unusually long and thick neck vertebrae and are one of the heaviest and largest dinosaurs to have ever existed. The neck vertebra, found with the rest of the fossils of this dinosaur, was also found to be similarly wide.

In which geological period did the Puertasaurus roam the earth?

There has been confusion related to which time period these dinosaurs lived in, but recent studies have shown that deposits in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation can be dated back to the Campanian and Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous period. Thus, the Puertasaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous, almost 83.6-66 million years ago.

When did the Puertasaurus become extinct?

Sauropods lived on earth during the Late Cretaceous, and so, it can be concluded that P. reuili was wiped out along with three-quarters of plant and animal species on Earth after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. This was because of the impact of a massive comet or asteroid on the surface of the Earth.

Where did a Puertasaurus live?

Puertasaurus reuili lived in what is now referred to as Patagonia, Argentina in South America. Its vertebrae have all been recovered from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in southwestern Patagonia, which was formerly called the Pari Aike Formation.

What was a Puertasaurus' habitat?

Research into the deposits of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation has shown that during the Late Cretaceous, the environment there would have been a highly humid one, and the land would have been covered with a terrestrial forest. Thus, these dinosaurs would have had plenty of vegetation to feed on.

Who did a Puertasaurus live with?

Titanosaurs are suspected to have been social creatures who lived in a herd, and fossils of other Titanosaurs like Dreadnoughtus have also been found in the same Formation in Patagonia where the Puertasaurus specimen was found. Fossils of Argentinosaurus have been discovered in Argentina as well, along with some other ornithopods and theropods.

How long did a Puertasaurus live?

The lifespan of this prehistoric animal is difficult to calculate due to the scarcity of information and fossils available of this dinosaur.

How did they reproduce?

It has been thought that the P. reuili would have laid eggs from which young ones emerged. Some Titanosaurs have been known to lay around 25 eggs in a single clutch by digging holes in the ground with their hind legs.

What did a Puertasaurus look like?

Puertasaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs that lived on Earth. Although only a neck vertebra, a back vertebra, and two tail vertebrae have been found so far, assumptions can be made about its size and shape. Its dorsal or back vertebra is notably broad and thus, its rib cage is estimated to have been around 16.4-26.2 ft (5-8 m) wide. Its neck could have been thick and long, given the wideness of the cervical vertebra that was recovered. Scientists also found that the neck of this dinosaur would have been much more flexible compared to others of its kind, and it would have been able to bend its neck backwards to reach branches of high trees with ease.

How many bones did a Puertasaurus have?

It is not possible to know the total number of bones that P. reuili would have had as only four vertebrae of the dinosaur have been recovered as of now.

How did they communicate?

There is no evidence showing how these Titanosaurs communicated with each other, but it is said that dinosaurs would communicate using their voice and body language.

How big was a Puertasaurus?

Puertasaurus can be considered one of the largest animals to have ever lived on the land with an estimated range of length of 98-131 ft (30-40 m). These would have been slightly bigger in length than a Diplodocus, which was also a sauropod dinosaur.

How fast could a Puertasaurus move?

The speed of these giant dinosaurs could not have been very fast, owing to their immense size and weight.

How much did a Puertasaurus weigh?

The weight of P. reuili has been widely debated but is commonly estimated to lie within the range of 60-110 short tons (53.5-98.2 long tons).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to the male and female Puertasaurus.

What would you call a baby Puertasaurus?

A baby dinosaur of this genus would have been referred to as a hatchling.

What did they eat?

Puertasaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur and would have had an unselective diet consisting of all kinds of plant matter, leaves, grasses, conifers, and cycads.

Some well-known predators of this sauropod include theropods Giganotosaurus and Abelisaurus.

How aggressive were they?

Although this cannot be known for sure, these dinosaurs are assumed to have been fairly peaceful and non-aggressive towards any creature that didn't bother them.

Did you know...

When the specimen of a Puertasaurus was found in 2001 by Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, it was reported by Fernando Novas that it was the first time a neck vertebra had been found of a dinosaur belonging to the clade of Titanosauria.

Was the Puertasaurus the biggest dinosaur?

No, Puertasaurus is not the biggest dinosaur. Though some assumptions have been made regarding its size that would make it the largest dinosaur, a correct estimate cannot be formed without more fossils being recovered and its maximum length was estimated by Fernando Novas at 131 ft (40 m). There are other sauropod dinosaurs such as Barosaurus that would have been an estimated length of 157 ft (48 m).

How many Titanosaurs were there?

Titanosauria consists of the largest and heaviest ground-dwelling animals to have ever lived on Earth, and have been found in almost all continents of the world. More than 40 species of Titanosaurs have been found till now, from which Argentinosaurus, Puertasaurus, and Patagotitan are some of the largest.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Zuniceratops facts and Heterodontosaurus facts for kids.

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

Second image by Slate Weasel.