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Difference between revisions of "Saltosaurus"

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[[Image:Saltasaurus Madagasikara.jpg|thumb|200px| Saltasaurus]]


Saltasaurus was a small [[sauropod]] from the late [[cretaceous]] period, it's name means lizard from salta.  [[Saltasaurus is designated by it's [[diplodocid]] type head and blunt teeth onl y at the back of the mouth.  It was the first fossil discovered with tiny bone plates within it's skin.  This form of armour has been later found in a variety of other [[titanosaurids]].  They resemble the same plates found on the [[ankylsaurus]]
#REDIRECT[[Saltasaurus]]
 
==Discovery==
 
Saltasaurus was first found by [[José Bonaparte and [[Jaime E. Powell]]in 1980.  It was estimated to be 39 feet and possibly weighing in at 8 tons.  Being a [[sauropod]], it would have been strictly and [[herbavore]] and believed to have been able to raise up on it's hind legs to reach high branches. It's name is taken from a region in the north west of Argentina, where it was first found, but more fossils have been found in Uruguay.  There is only one species of this dinosaur known, to date.
 
==Competition for survival==
During the [[cretaceous]] period, many [[sauropod]]s were losing their dominance in North America.  The [[duck bill]]ed dinosaurs like the [[edmontosaurus]] were gaining a larger number as the older [[sauropod]]s died out.  However at this time, South America was and island that prevented the [[duck bill]s were never able to catch up and so the larger [[titanosaurids]] were ale to continue evolving.  The saltasaurus was one of the higher evolved [[sauropod]]s that lived 70 to 65 million years ago.  Like many recent discoveries of dinosaurs, the [[saltasaurus]] resulted in [[paleontologist]]s to change many previously held assumptions about [[sauropod]]s as a group.  Saltosaurus was clearly a [[sauropod]] but until it was found, it was not known they had armour plating.  It was believed that it's size would be enough to protect it from any attacks.  This was further suggested when another saltasaurus was discovered with bony knobs that were 4-5 inches in diameter.  [[paleontoligist]]s now realized that many other [[sauropods]] may have had this armour, like the [[laplatasaurus]], also found in Argentina.
 
==Nesting ground==
 
In 1997 [[Luis Chiappe]] was working with a team near Auca Mahuevo in Patagonia, Argentina and uncovered a large [[titansaur]] nesting ground.  Their eggs were amazingly small for such large creature, measuring 4-5 inches in diameter.  Additionally making this an exciting discovery, it was discovered the eggs held fossilised embryos with skin impressions, it's believed these would have belonged to a saltasaurus.  The females would apparantly dig hole, lay their eggs and then bury them with dirt and vegetaion, much like modern crocodiles.  This suggests herd behavior, which along with their armour would have been adequete defense against such predators as the [[abelisaurus]].
 
==External Link==
*[http://www.nhm.org/tiniestgiants/sub_research/research05.html Tiniest Giants]
 
 
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

Latest revision as of 15:23, 18 April 2007

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