Information AboutAmargasaurus |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AMARGASAURUS | |
| cretaceous dinosaurs | |
| diplodocoids | |
| dinosaurs of south america | |
''Amargasaurus'' (ah-MAHR-gah-SAWR-us; "La Amarga lizard") is a Genus of Dicraeosaurid Sauropod Dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period of South America . It was small for a sauropod, reaching 33 feet (10 meters) in length. It would have been a Quadrupedal Herbivore with a long, low Skull on the end of a long neck, much like its relative '' Dicraeosaurus ''. However, this dinosaur sported two parallel rows of tall spines down its neck and back, taller than in any other known sauropod, which may have supported skin sails. The name ''Amargasaurus'' was coined in 1991 by Argentine Paleontologist s Leonardo Salgado and Jose Bonaparte , because its Fossil remains were found alongside the La Amarga Arroyo in the Neuquén province of Argentina. La Amarga is also the name of a nearby town, as well as the Geologic Formation the remains were recovered from. The word ''amarga'' itself is Spanish for "bitter," while ''sauros'' is Greek for "lizard." The one named Species (''A. cazaui'') is named in honor of the man who discovered the site, Dr. Luis Cazau, a Geologist with the YPF Oil company, which at the time was state-owned. This site is located in the lower (older) sections of the La Amarga Formation , which dates to the Barremian through early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous Period, or around 130 to 120 million years ago. ''Amargasaurus'' is known from a relatively complete skeleton from a single individual. This skeleton includes the back of the Skull , and all Vertebra e of the neck, back, and hips, as well as a bit of the tail. The right side of the shoulder girdle is also known, as are the left forelimb and hindlimb, and the left Ilium , a bone of the Pelvis . The most obvious feature of ''Amargasaurus''' skeleton is the series of tall spines on the neck and back vertebrae. The spines are tallest on the neck, where they are paired in two parallel rows. These rows continue along the back, decreasing in height as they approach the hips. The lower back and Sacral (hip) vertebrae feature only single spines, which are long but much shorter than those of the neck, comparable to other sauropods. These spines may have supported a pair of tall skin sails. Similar sails are seen in the unrelated dinosaurs '' Spinosaurus '' and '' Ouranosaurus '', as well as the Pelycosaur '' Dimetrodon ''. There are a variety of Hypotheses for the function of these sails, including defense, Communication (for mating purposes or for simple Species Recognition ), or Temperature Regulation . However, their true function remains unknown. Similar spines are found on the presacral vertebrae of ''Dicraeosaurus'' from Africa , although not nearly as tall. ''Amargasaurus'' and ''Dicraeosaurus'' are united with the more recently discovered '' Brachytrachelopan '' in the family Dicraeosauridae. Dicraeosaurids and Diplodocid sauropods are included in a group called Flagellicaudata (Rauhut et al., 2005; Taylor & Naish, 2005). REFERENCES
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