Ampelosaurus is a member of the suborder Sauropod and is a Titanosaur. It is believed that it went extinct around 70 million to 66 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in places like Spain and France.
Key Facts
| Domain | Description |
|---|---|
| Ampelosaurus pronunciation | Am-pe-lo-sore-us |
| What does Ampelosaurus mean? | Vineyard lizard or vine lizard |
| Dinosaur type | Sauropod |
| On the menu | Herbivore |
| Length | 50 ft (15 meters) |
| Height | Unknown |
| Weight | 20.000 lbs (9000 kg) |
| Life expectancy | Up to 100 years |
| Legs used to get around | Quadrupedal |
| Estimated top speed | Unknown |
| When they lived | About 70 to 66 million years ago |
| Where they have been found? | Europe |
When & Where
The Ampelosaurus used to roam the Earth from the Campanian Age to the Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous period about 70 to 66 million years ago.
The sauropod Ampelosaurus was discovered during the expedition of a team of French paleontologists in 1989. They were digging a bonebed known as ‘Compane-sur-Aude.’ They came across large limbs, ribs and vertebrae. Its fossils were collected in the levels of the Marnes Rouges Formation.
It was then moved into a museum and was forgotten until Jean Le Loeff discovered other large bones in 1995 during his expedition in a vineyard in Southern France. He knew immediately that such bones belonged to the same kind of sauropod discovered in 1989.
Size & Weight
Based on the bones recovered, the Ampelosaurus was said to be about 15 meters long (50’), making it twice as long as the Appalachiosaurus. It weighed around 20,000 lbs (9 tons).
Mobility & Diet
Mainly fed on various plant materials like leaves, barks and twigs all throughout their life. With their humongous size, they needed to eat more than a ton of vegetation every day. These were digested with the help of the gastroliths present in their gut.
Interesting Points
- It is closely related to the Saltosaurus of South America.
- Its tail was used as a defense from its predators like the Tarascosaurus and the deadly Pyroraptor.
Featured Image Credit: ДиБгд at Russian Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
