Name:
Paralititan (Greek for "tidal giant"); pronounced pah-RA-lih-tie-tan
Habitat:
Swamps of northern Africa
Historical Period:
Middle Cretaceous (95 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 100 feet long and 70 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Enormous size; long neck and tail
About Paralititan:
Paralititan is a recent addition to the list of enormous titanosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous period. The remains of this giant herbivore (notably an upper arm bone over five feet long) were dug up in Egypt in 2001; paleontologists believe that it may have been the second-largest sauropod in history, behind the truly humongous Argentinosaurus.
One odd thing about Paralititan is that it prospered during a period (the middle Cretaceous) when other titanosaurs were slowly going extinct, and giving way to the better-armored members of the breed that succeeded them. It seems that the climate of northern Africa when Paralititan lived was particularly productive of lush vegetation, tons of which this giant dinosaur needed to eat every day.
