Name:
Hypselosaurus (Greek for "high-ridged lizard"); pronounced HIP-sell-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Western Europe
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (70-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 27 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Long neck and tail; unusually thick legs
About Hypselosaurus:
As an example of how scattered and fragmentary the remains of some titanosaurs are, paleontologists have identified 10 separate specimens of Hypselosaurus, yet they've still only been able to roughly reconstruct what this dinosaur looked like. It's unclear if Hypselosaurus had armor (a feature shared by some other titanosaurs), but its legs were clearly thicker than those of other of its breed, and it had relatively small and weak teeth.
Hypselosaurus may be most famous for its fossilized eggs, which are a full foot in diameter. Fittingly for this herbivore, though, even its eggs are subject to dispute; some experts think they actually belong to the huge, prehistoric, flightless bird Gargantuavis.
