The largest dinosaur ever discovered is the Argentinosaurus, meaning "Argentine lizard." This frisky fellow lived during the Cretaceous period, 90 million years ago.
Argentinosaurus: More of a Big Cheese Than Even Bigcheeseasaurus
It's more ultra than the Ultrasauros. It's more giant than the Giganotosaurus. And it's noticeably more seismic than even the Seismosaurus-- a relative pip-squeak compared to the mighty Argentinosaurus.
The Argentinosaurus is the big-daddy, patriarchal, boss-man, do-what-I-say big cheese of the dinosaurs, and it was only recently discovered. If there was a dinosaur named Bigcheeseasaurus, then Argentinosaurus would also invariably be more big cheese than the Bigcheeseasaurus.
In any event, the name Argentinosaurus is well chosen because a huge, ponderous monstrosity of a dinosaur needs a huge, ponderous name.
Argentinosaurus had powerful back muscles and immense vertebrae that were wing-shaped and up to five feet high by five feet wide. The neck was exceedingly long, tapering to a small, triangular-shaped skull.
It has been speculated that at the height of its adolescence Argentinosaurus was likely to have eaten enough food to have gained 45 kg (100 pounds) per day. "Brother, that's a lot of weight," might be the first words out of the mouth of a palaeontologist.
An adult Argentinosaurus measured about 36.6 meters (120 feet) in length and weighed up to 100 tons. Its height was 21.4 meters (70 feet), or about the size of a six-story building
Is It a Sheep skeleton? Is It Petrified Wood? Is It a Bird? Is It a Plane? No, It's an Argentinosaurus, by Gum!
The Argentinosaurus was found on a sheep farm in Argentina by ranch-man Guillermo Heredia, who at first mistook the dinosaur bone for petrified wood.
Presumably, Señor Heredia was at some point able to remember how to tell his petrified wood from dinosaur bones and then contact his nearest palaeontologist or dinosaur hot line.
Señor Heredia's sheep farm is in the Patagonia region of Argentina, which seems to be a dinosaur-rich Klondyke area of the country. This is the same area where Giganotosaurus fossils were found. Gigantosaurus is the largest known carnivore that has ever existed, surpassing even its more famous cousin, the Tyrannosaurus Rex in size and nastiness. A Gigantosaurus-Argentinosaurus battle might not have been an uncommon occurrence, and certainly would have been an interesting spectacle to witness.
Although the Argentinosaurus is considered the largest officially recognised dinosaur to have lived, it was just a few years ago that several vertebrae were unearthed in Patagonia belonging to a still-unidentified dinosaur that might prove to have been even larger than the Argentinosaurus.
Relax, Charlie. The Argentinosaurus Is Just a Herbivore
As a long-necked sauropod, the Argentinosaurus was well equipped to reach up to eat things in hard-to-reach places. Argentinosaurus' diet most likely included a healthy dash of conifers by the ton.
