Name:
Alamosaurus (Greek for "Alamo lizard"); pronounced AL-ah-moe-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of North America
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 50 feet long and 30 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Long neck and tail; relatively long legs
About Alamosaurus:
Although there may be other genuses whose fossils have yet to be discovered, Alamosaurus is one of the few titanosaurs known to have lived in late Cretaceous North America, and possibly in vast numbers: According to one analysis, there may have been 350,000 of these 50-foot-long herbivores living in Texas at any given time. Its closest relative appears to have been another titanosaur, Saltasaurus.
It's an odd fact that Alamosaurus wasn't named after the Alamo in Texas, but the Ojo Alamo sandstone formation in New Mexico. This herbivore already had its name when numerous (but incomplete) fossils were discovered in the Lone Star State, so you might say that everything worked out in the end!
