Argentinosaurus is an incredibly large sauropod that lived in South America during the Cretaceous. Argentinosaurus consists of one species, Argentinosaurus huinculensis.
In-Game[]
Description[]
The largest animal In-game, Argentinosaurus is an utter behemoth that towers over all others in the park. Its titanic proportions and majestic presence truly make it a star attraction in any kingdom.
In Prehistoric Kingdom, Argentinosaurus is reconstructed with large osteoderms along its lower back and hip, a trait found in almost all titanosaur species and one of Argentinosaurus' close relatives, Mendozasaurus.
Management[]
To be announced.
In-Game Trivia[]
Nigel Marven
Now, I've seen skeletons of Argentinosaurus before, but nothing can prepare you for the sheer immensity of this dinosaur in the flesh.
Nigel Marven
These titanic sauropods (fittingly called titanosaurs) grow rapidly. Once they reach a certain size, they're virtually untouchable, and have nothing to fear from puny apex predators. Hungry guests, though? Let's hope we don't find out!
Nigel Marven
A single vertebrae from the back of this animal could be over a meter and a half tall!
Nigel Marven
Hatchlings are absolutely puny by comparison. Without the protection of enormity, young Argentinosaurus are extremely vulnerable, so adults compensate by having as many babies as possible to increase the chances that one of them will reach adulthood. Quantity over quality!
Paleontology[]
Argentinosaurus was found in 1987 by a rancher near Plaza Huincul in the Neuquén Province of Argentina who mistook it as a piece of petrified wood. It was officially named in 1993 by paleontologists Jose Bonaparte and Rodolfo Coria and its name means "Argentinian Lizard". While it is somewhat fragmentary, mainly consisting of vertebrae, a hip, and hindlimb bones, comparisons with other more complete Titanosaurs has allowed paleontologists to make some inferences about what this animal was like in life. Its remains are also among the most substantial of the largest known sauropods, with many contenders for the title of largest sauropod being known merely from a few isolated bones.
Paleoecology[]
Argentinosaurus was a massive sauropod, not only being one of the largest in its region but also possibly the largest dinosaur to have ever lived. While other dinosaurs of similar size have been discovered, Argentinosaurus still holds the title of likely being the largest of all based on mass estimates at 65 to 75 tonnes. It had an extremely long neck, allowing it access to foliage other herbivorous dinosaurs would be unable to reach. Similar to other sauropods, Argentinosaurus likely had a keratinized lip, forming a rough beak-like covering around the animals mouth, allowing it to browse through the often pokey and sharp branches with ease. Argentinosaurus would have had to consume ridiculous amounts of plant matter daily in order to grow and maintain its massive body. Its incredible size was made possible thanks to its light-weight air-filled skeleton, not unlike the skeletons of modern birds. Remarkably Argentinosaurus and all sauropodomorphs can trace their ancestry to small, likely feathery, and bipedal bird-like omnivores like the Triassic sauropodomorph Eoraptor. Hints of this evolutionary transition can be seen in the bone structure of sauropods, including limb bones which somewhat resemble bipedal forms, and their characteristic saurischian hip structure.
Titanosaurs like Argentinosaurus have been known to be strong R-Strategists, meaning that during reproduction these animals would have had large numbers of young with minimal parental care, rather than K-Strategists such as elephants and humans which have few offspring with high parental care. Titanosaurs have also been known to bury their eggs in geologically active areas such as near volcanoes or geothermal sources of heat, an odd yet effective strategy that has surprisingly been observed in some modern birds such as the Maleo.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Argentinosaurus is the biggest animal in Prehistoric Kingdom.
- When in sufficiently deep water, Argentinosaurus and Brachiosaurus will have their hindquarters float up in a bizarre looking swimming posture. This is based on real fossils as there is a set of sauropod swimming tracks that shows a sauropod walking along the bottom of a body of water using only its front limbs with its back limbs floating closer to the surface.
- Popular due to its unprecedented size, Argentinosaurus has appeared in a few pieces of media, most notably the Walking with Dinosaurs spinoff, Chased by Dinosaurs, in which it was the subject of a full episode. This special was hosted by Nigel Marven, who has the only voice acting role in Prehistoric Kingdom so far.
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