Argyrosaurus

Argyrosaurus superbus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 90 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Neosauropoda
Clade:	†Macronaria
Clade:	†Titanosauria
Family:	†Argyrosauridae
Genus:	†Argyrosaurus Lydekker, 1893
Species:	†A. superbus
Binomial name
Argyrosaurus superbus Lydekker, 1893

Argyrosaurus (/ˌɑːrdʒaɪəroʊˈsɔːrəs/ AR-ji-ro-SAWR-əs) is a genus of herbivorous titanosaurid dinosaur that lived about 90 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Argentina.

The type species, Argyrosaurus superbus, was formally described by Richard Lydekker in 1893.^[1] The genus name means 'silver lizard' from Greek argyros, 'silver', and sauros, 'lizard', because it was discovered in Argentina, which literally means 'silver land'. The specific epithet means "proud" in Latin.

The holotype specimen of Argyrosaurus superbus is a huge left forelimb, MLP 77-V-29-1. Although numerous other remains have been referred, the holotype remains the only material which unambiguously pertains to the genus.^[2]

References

1. Lydekker, R. (1893). "Contributions to the study of the fossil vertebrates of Argentina. I. The dinosaurs of Patagonia". Anales del Museo de la Plata, Seccion de Paleontologia. 2: 1–14.
2. Mannion, P. D.; Otero, A. (2012). "A reappraisal of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Argyrosaurus superbus, with a description of a new titanosaur genus". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (3): 614–618. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.660898.

External links

• An image of Argyrosaurus
• Argyrosaurus in the Paleobiology Database
• Artist's impression of Argyrosaurus, with scaled holotype forelimb