Aegyptosaurus

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Aegyptosaurus
Temporal range: Cenomanian,
~100–94 Ma
PreꞒ
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O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Aegyptosaurus.png
Humerus and femur reconstructions to scale
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Clade: †Macronaria
Clade: †Titanosauria
Genus: †Aegyptosaurus
Stromer, 1932
Type species
†Aegyptosaurus baharijensis
Stromer, 1932

Aegyptosaurus /iːˌdʒɪptoʊˈsɔːrəs/ (meaning 'Egypt's lizard') is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Africa, around 95 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period (Cenomanian faunal stage). Like most sauropods, it had a long neck and a small skull. The animal's tail possibly acted as a counterweight to its body mass. Aegyptosaurus was a close relative of Argentinosaurus, a much larger dinosaur found in South America.

Aegyptosaurus was described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1932.[1] Its fossils have been found in the Bahariya Formation of Egypt, Niger (Farak Formation), and in several different locations in the Sahara Desert.[2] The generic name, Aegyptosaurus, is derived from the country in which it was discovered and the Greek sauros meaning 'lizard'. All known specimens were discovered before 1939. The fossils were stored together in Munich, but were obliterated when an Allied bombing raid destroyed the museum where they were kept in 1944, during World War II. Only fragments from other specimens still exist, mostly in the form of indeterminate specimens from Niger.

The holotype (1912VIII61) consists of three caudal vertebrae, a partial scapula, and some limb bones, all of which were discovered in Egypt.[1]

In 2010, Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at 15 metres (49 ft), and its weight at 7 tonnes (7.7 short tons).[3]

Speculative restoration


References[]

  1. ^ a b Stromer, E. (1932a). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltierreste der Baharîje-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 11. Sauropoda. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge, 10: 1-21.
  2. ^ Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Early Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 571-573. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
  3. ^ Paul, G.S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 205.
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