FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
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In South America, many Cretaceous dinosaurs have been found. A search for sauropods in Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina led to the discovery of three partial specimens of Ligabuesaurus.
In Argentina, a new titanosaur species was found from the Lohan Cura Formation. In 2006, the genus was named Ligabuesaurus. The discovery of the incomplete skeleton led to important findings regarding the paleontology of sauropods in the region. The giant land reptile had the characteristic long neck and tail, and like other sauropods, was a herbivore. Not much has been understood about the nature of the dinosaur, however, the skeletal remains show the similarity between Ligabuesaurus and other titanosaurs. It also revealed other features not similar to this clade. Hence, Ligabuesaurus sheds light on the incomplete information about the Titanosauria clade. Gonzalez Riga, Jose Bonaparte, and Sebastián Apesteguía described the type species of this genus from the Cretaceous period based on an incomplete skeleton.
Explore this article for a deeper insight into this Extinct herbivorous dinosaur.
The pronunciation of Ligabuesaurus is 'Lee-gah-boo-sore-us'.
Ligabuesaurus is a type species belonging to titanosaur clade. It also belongs to other clades such as Dinosauria, Sauropoda, Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, and Macronaria.
Ligabuesaurus roamed the Earth in the Early or Lower Cretaceous period in present-day Argentina. The fossils of the new titanosaur were recovered from the Lohan Cura Formation. This places these dinosaurs in the Late Aptian-Albian age between 112-109 million years ago.
Ligabuesaurus may have become Extinct by the end of the Early Cretaceous period. Its partial skeletal remains were discovered at the Lohan Cura Formation in Argentina.
Ligabuesaurus was a terrestrial or ground-dwelling genus from the Dinosauria and Sauropoda clades.
Ligabuesaurus was a new titanosaur genus discovered from the Lower Cretaceous of Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina. The Lohan Cura Formation where the partial skeleton of the new titanosaur was found is a type of geological formation with predominantly mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and claystone. The abundance of sandstone in the area indicates the presence of streams. There is no information about the available vegetation in this region during the Early Cretaceous period.
Ligabuesaurus may have shared their habitat with other dinosaurs such as Cretaceous tetrapods, sauropods, theropods, and titanosaurian sauropods. It is said that other fossils revealed were found of chelid turtles, theropod teeth, isolated fragments of birds, and crocodile bones among Ligabuesaurus' remains.
It is unclear how long Ligabuesaurus may have survived. It is estimated that the Ligabuesaurus survived till the end of the Early Cretaceous period, however, their lifespan is yet to be determined.
The new titanosaur as a species was oviparous as their reproduction took place by laying eggs. Since only one fossil of this sauropod has been recovered, there is not much information about their reproductive behavior.
Bonaparte described Ligabuesaurus as a large sauropod dinosaur. Like other sauropods, this dinosaur had a long neck and lizard-like tail. Ligabuesaurus was seen to be a basal titanosaur because it had some derived features seen in the Titanosauriformes. This includes compressed cone-shaped and chisel-like teeth. Gonzalez Riga, Jose Bonaparte, and Sebastián Apesteguía described Ligabuesaurus leanzai in the year 2006.
We've been unable to source an image of Ligabuesaurus and have used an image of Dryosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Ligabuesaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].
The fossils of Ligabuesaurus of the Cretaceous period found in the Lohan Cura Formation included a partial jawbone or maxilla with ten teeth, six cervical and dorsal vertebrae (backbone parts), girdle and limb bones. Since only an incomplete skeleton was recovered, it is hard to discern the total number of bones found in this genus found in the Lower Cretaceous period. This dinosaur belongs to Dinosauria, Sauropoda, and Saurischia clades.
It is not clear how Ligabuesaurus would have communicated with each other and other dinosaurs present in the Lower Cretaceous period.
A titanosaur is a dinosaur belonging to Dinosauria, Sauropoda, and Saurischia clades that are known to house some of the largest land animals. So, it is not surprising that the Ligabuesaurus could have been approximately 78.7 ft (24 m) long. However, compared to the Patagotitan mayorum, which was one of the largest territorial animals, another titanosaurian sauropod from Patagonia, Argentina whose length measured 121 ft (37 m), this new titanosaur was small.
Research has yet to ascertain the speed at which Ligabuesaurus could move during the Early Cretaceous period. However, this land-dwelling member of Dinosauria, Sauropoda, and Saurischia clades was known to be actively mobile using its four limbs to travel.
Given the morphology of this dinosaur of the Cretaceous period, it is likely for it to weigh a lot. However, the average weight of Ligabuesaurus has yet to be ascertained.
The female and male species of Ligabuesaurus do not have specific names. They are both simply called male Ligabuesaurus or female Ligabuesaurus.
A baby Ligabuesaurus is called a juvenile or hatchling.
The nature of Ligabuesaurus has not been described.
Bonaparte named Ligabuesaurus leanzai to honor Dr Giancarlo Ligabue, an Italian philanthropist and Dr Héctor A Leanza, the person who discovered the specimen in the Lohan Cura Formation .
The specimen holotype MCF-PHV-233 includes a partial maxilla that includes six cervical, 10 teeth, six cervical as well as dorsal vertebrae, incomplete ribs, left and right scapulae, the complete left humerus and only the right one's proximal and distal parts, metacarpals (four from the left side), an incomplete femur of the right hind limb along with tibia, fibula, astragalus, five metatarsals and five phalanges.
Found in the Lower Cretaceous, only partial fossils of this genus of dinosaur of the clades Dinosauria, Sauropoda, and a few others have been found in the Neuquén Basin, Patagonia, Argentina. Research has yet to ascertain whether this basal titanosaur was deadly and predatory.
It is unclear whether this dinosaur of the Cretaceous period was greedy as it was not explored in the Bonaparte's study about the genus.
Whether the Ligabuesaurus was territorial has not been ascertained yet.
Gonzalez Riga, Jose Bonaparte, and Sebastián Apesteguía described Ligabuesaurus leanzai of the Cretaceous period based on an incomplete skeleton.
We've been unable to source an image of Ligabuesaurus and have used an image of Brachiosaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Ligabuesaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].
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At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
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