Name:
Epachthosaurus (Greek for "heavy lizard"); pronounced eh-PACK-tho-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of South America
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 60 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Strong back and rear; lack of armor
About Epachthosaurus:
Not all dinosaurs that flourished at the end of the Cretaceous period (right before the K/T Extinction) represented the pinnacle of evolution. A good example is Epachthosaurus, which paleontologists classify as a titanosaur, even though it appears to have lacked the armor plating that sometimes characterized these advanced sauropods. Epachthosaurus seems to have been a "throwback" to earlier sauropod anatomy, especially in the structure of its vertebrae, but it still managed to coexist alongside more advanced forms.
