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Saltasaurus
Period of life:
70-68 MYA
Era/period:
Cretaceous
Habitat:
Argentina
Length:
12
Description
Saltasaurus is a herbivorous dinosaur of Saltasauridae family from Late Cretaceous period inhabited South America about 75-66 million years ago. Its fossils were discovered in 1980 in Salta Province, Argentina north-west region, hence its name. Its length was estimated at 12 metres and was rather small compared to huge titanosaurs.
The discovery of Saltasaurus bones made a great sensation among scientists. Previously, paleontologists believed that only ornithischians could have bony plates. But our hero became the first sauropod specimen whose body was armoured with small oval bony plates. In addition to Saltasaurus gigantic size, these plates protected it from predators.
Sauropods like Saltasaurus were born under a lucky star. All continents except South America were inhabited by duck-billed dinosaurs that dashed around the best fields and consumed the best grass up. As a result, sluggish sauropods lost to duck-billed dinosaurs and, survived only on the continent washed by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.