Named By: | J. L. Sanz, A. D. Buscalioni, M.inL. Casanovas and J.inV. Santafe in 1987 |
Time Period: | Early Cretaceous, Hauterivian-Barremian |
Location: | Spain, Province of Teruel - El Castellar Formation |
Size: | Estimated about 18 meters long |
Diet: | Herbivore |
Fossil(s): | Partial skeleton including a femur, Pubis, Ischium, phalanges, scapula, and caudal (tail) vertebrae |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Dinosauria | Saurischia | Sauropodomorpha | Sauropoda | |
Aragosaurus (meaning "Aragon lizard") was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Galve, province of Teruel, in the autonomous territory of Aragon, Spain.
Aragosaurus was a large, quadrupedal plant-eating (herbivorous) dinosaur, which lived about 133-125 million years ago, in the Hauterivian-Barremian. It was about 18 metres (59 ft) in length and about 28 tonnes in weight.
Like other sauropods, it had a long neck, a long powerful tail, a small head and a bulky body. It was broadly similar to Camarasaurus. It is represented by a partial fossil, which was found in Spain and was named by Sanz, Buscalioni, Casanovi and Santafe in 1987. The type species is A. ischiaticus. Like Camarasaurus, Aragosaurus probably had a short, compact skull and a moderately long neck. The teeth were large and wide, and would have been useful for slicing through the leaves and branches of tall conifer trees. The forelimbs were only a little shorter than the hind limbs, and the tail was long and muscular.