Amazonsaurus

Amazonsaurus was a sauropod member of Rebbachisauridae. Fossil remains were first discovered along the plains of Brazil. 

Key Facts

DomainDescription
Amazonsaurus pronunciationAm-ah-zon-soh-rus
What does Amazonsaurus mean?Amazon lizard
Dinosaur typeSauropod
On the menuHerbivore
Length473 inches (12 meters)
HeightUnknown
Weight11,023 lbs (5000 kg)
Life expectancyUnknown
Legs used to get aroundQuadrupedal
Estimated top speedEstimated to run as fast as 40 mph
When they livedLower Cretaceous 125 to 100.5 million years ago
Where they have been found?Brazil, South America

When & Where

Lived during the Lower Cretaceous period, approximately 125 million to 100.5 million years ago. 

It was discovered by Brazilian Paleontologists, Ismar de Souza Carvalho and Leonardo dos Santos Avilla from the Rio de Janeiro Federal University together with Leonardo Salgado of Comahue National University. Fossil remains were excavated from the Amazon basin and some were discovered in the Itapecuru formation of Maranhão.

Size & Weight

Approximately almost 473 inches in length, which was bigger than most of the sauropods while it weighed about 5000 kgs. 

Mobility & Diet

Mainly fed with various plant materials such as plants, trees and fruits. It lived in harmony together with its fellow sauropods. They have resided in dense vegetation areas such as forests and grasslands. 

Interesting Points

  • Thought to be one of the Amazonsaurus’ reveals that it might be one of the late surviving members of the basal Diplocoids
  • One known species of Amazonsaurus is the Amazonsaurus marahensis
  • It was a member of the genus Diplodocoids and was considered to be the smallest among all of its members

Featured Image Credit: DarkWerewolf, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons