Open Paleo

Aeolosaurus

Powell, 1987 EE-o-lo-SAWR-us /ˌiːoʊloʊˈsɔːrəs/

Named after Aeolus, the Greek god of winds, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'; meaning 'Aeolus' lizard'

83.6–66.0 million years ago Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Aeolosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. Like most sauropods, it would have been a quadrupedal herbivore with a long neck and tail. Aeolosaurus is well known for a titanosaur, as it is represented by the remains of several individuals belonging to at least two species. However, like most titanosaurs, no remains of the skull are known.

Species (2)

Aeolosaurus rionegrinus Powell, 1987

Type species

Named for Río Negro Province of Argentina, where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
MJG-R 1 , Museo Naturalístico, Antropológico e Histórico "Jorge Gerhold"
Horizon
Angostura Colorada Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Casa de Piedra, Estancia Maquinchao, Río Negro, Argentina

Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis Casal et al., 2007

Refers to Lago Colhué Huapi, in center-south Chubut Province, the site where the specimen was found.

Holotype
UNPSJB-PV 959/1, UNPSJB-PV 959/2, UNPSJB-PV 959/3, UNPSJB-PV 959/4, UNPSJB-PV 959/5, UNPSJB-PV 959/6, UNPSJB-PV 959/7, UNPSJB-PV 959/8, UNPSJB-PV 959/9, UNPSJB-PV 959/10, UNPSJB-PV 959/11, UNPSJB-PV 959/12, UNPSJB-PV 959/13, UNPSJB-PV 959/14, UNPSJB-PV 959/15, UNPSJB-PV 959/16, UNPSJB-PV 959/17, UNPSJB-PV 959/18, UNPSJB-PV 959/19, UNPSJB-PV 959/20, UNPSJB-PV 959/21, UNPSJB-PV 959/22, UNPSJB-PV 959/23, UNPSJB-PV 959/24, UNPSJB-PV 959/25, UNPSJB-PV 959/26, UNPSJB-PV 959/27 , Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco
Material
21 articulated caudal vertebrae and seven articulated haemal arches forming part of a tail series.
Horizon
Lago Colhué Huapi Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Emergent island in the southeast of Lago Colhué Huapi, Chubut, Argentina
Diagnosis
  1. Deep, well-marked fossa between the transverse process and base of the neural spine in the most anterior caudal vertebrae
  2. Slender infraspinoprezygapophyseal lamina connecting the base of the prespinal lamina to the lower edge of the prezygapophyseal articular facet, producing a fossa on each side of the prespinal lamina
  3. Posterior articular condyle in central/median position throughout the caudal series (displaced dorsally in A. rionegrinus)
  4. Middle-caudal prezygapophyses somewhat shorter than in A. rionegrinus
  5. Postzygapophyses oriented lateroventrally with greater inclination to the sagittal plane (nearly parallel to it in A. rionegrinus)

References

  1. Powell, J. E. (1987). The Late Cretaceous fauna of Los Alamitos, Patagonia, Argentina part VI-the titanosaurids. Revista del Museo Argentina de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" e Instituto Nacional de Investigacion de las Ciencias Naturales: Paleontología 3(3): 147-153. powell1987a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026b
  3. Casal, G.; Martínez, R. D.; Luna, M.; Sciutto, J. C.; Lamanna, M. C. (2007). Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) de la Formación Bajo Barreal, Cretácico superior de Argentina. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 10(1): 53-62. Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia. doi:10.4072/rbp.2007.1.05 casal2007a
  4. Ibiricu, L. M.; Casal, G. A.; Martínez, R. D.; Luna, M.; Canale, J. I.; Álvarez, B. N.; González Riga, B. (2019). A new ornithopod dinosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous of central Patagonia. Cretaceous Research 98: 276-291. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.02.001

    Records that the strata formerly called the upper member of the Bajo Barreal Formation were redefined as the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation, and lists A. colhuehuapensis among its titanosaurs.

    ibiricu2019a
  5. Santucci, R. M.; Filippi, L. S. (2022). Last titans: Titanosaurs from the Campanian–Maastrichtian age. South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs: Record, Diversity and Evolution 341-391. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3_10

    Cites the type locality directly as the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation.

    santucci2022a