Alamosaurus
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| Alamosaurus
Conservation status: Fossil | ||||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Alamosaurus.jpg Alamosaurus at Indianapolis | ||||||||||||||||
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| Alamosaurus sanjuanensis Gilmore, 1922 |
Alamosaurus (Al-ah-mo-sawr-us) meaning “Alamo lizard”, for the Ojo Alamo rock formation, where it was found (Greek sauros = lizard), was a quadruped herbivore, and was named after Fort Alamo, Texas where the great battle for the Alamo was fought. Alamosaurus, considered to be one of the last of the sauropods, lived 80 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period. It was named by Gilmore in 1922 after partial skeletons were found and was the first sauropod of the family Titanosauridae to be found in North America.
Alamosaurus fossils have been recovered from Montana, New Mexico, Texas and Utah, though no complete skulls have been found. The animal had a long neck, and a whip-like tail, probably used to defend itself against predators. Although little evidence has been found, some scientists say Alamosaurus may have had body armour, like other sauropods at the time.
It is estimated that Alamosaurus weighed around 33 tons and was over 69 feet long, much larger than other members of the Titanosauridae. The most recent major Alamosaurus find consists of two huge bones, a shoulder bone and a humerus from the Big Bend National Park, in the 1970's.
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