Rapetosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids RapetosaurusTemporal range: Upper Cretaceous
70–66 mya |
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| Juvenile skeleton next to adult Field Museum of Natural History |
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Rapetosaurus
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Rapetosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur. It lived in what is now Madagascar from 70 to 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period. Only one species, Rapetosaurus krausei, has been found. Like other sauropods, Rapetosaurus was a quadrupedal herbivore.
The discovery of Rapetosaurus was the first time a titanosaur had been recovered with an almost perfectly intact skeleton, complete with skull.
Contents
Description
Rapetosaurus was a fairly typical sauropod, with a short and slender tail, a very long neck and a huge, elephant-like body. Its head resembles the head of a diplodocid, with a long, narrow snout and nostrils on the top of its skull. It was a herbivore and its small, pencil-like teeth were good for ripping the leaves off trees but not for chewing.
It was fairly modest in size, for a titanosaur. The juvenile specimen measured 8 metres (26 ft) from head to tail, and "probably weighed about as much as an elephant". An adult would have been about twice as long (15 metres (49 ft) in length) which is still less than half the length of its gigantic kin, like Argentinosaurus and Paralititan.
Juvenile
The specimen discovered was a juvenile. It is 8 metres (26 ft) from head to tail, and "probably weighed about as much as an elephant", according to Kristina Curry Rogers. An adult would have been about twice as long (15 metres (49 ft) in length), which is still less than half the length of its gigantic kin, like Argentinosaurus and Paralititan.
Images for kids
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Field Museum mount in side view
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Mounted Majungasaurus and Rapetosaurus
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Restoration of two Majungasaurus chasing Rapetosaurus
See also
In Spanish: Rapetosaurus krausei para niños
