Aegyptosaurus

Taxobox
name = "Aegyptosaurus"
fossil_range=mid Cretaceous


image width =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Saurischia
subordo = Sauropodomorpha
infraordo = Sauropoda
unranked_familia = Titanosauria
genus = "Aegyptosaurus"
genus_authority = Stromer, 1932
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "A. baharijensis" Stromer, 1932 (type)

"Aegyptosaurus" (pronEng|iːˌdʒɪptəˈsɔrəs) meaning 'Egypt’s lizard', for the country in which it was discovered (Greek "sauros" meaning 'lizard') is a genus of dinosaur believed to have lived in what is now Africa, around 95 million years ago, during the mid- and late-Cretaceous Period (Albian to Cenomanian stages). This quadrupedal sauropod was a herbivore and its fossils have been found in Egypt, Niger and in several different locations in the Sahara Desert. All known examples were discovered before 1939. The fossils were stored together in Munich, but were obliterated when an Allied bombing raid destroyed the museum where they were kept in 1944, during World War II.

"Aegyptosaurus" was described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1932.Stromer, E. (1932a). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens. II. Wirbeltierreste der Baharîje-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman). 11. Sauropoda. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung, Neue Folge, 10: 1-21.] It is estimated to have weighed roughly 10.5 tonnes (11.5 tons), was 15 meters (50) feet long and was over 5 meters (16 ft) tall.Fact|date=April 2008 It had a long neck and a small skull. The animal's long tail probably acted as a counterweight to its body mass. "Aegyptosaurus" was a close relative of "Argentinosaurus", a much larger dinosaur found in South America.

It is possible that "Aegyptosaurus" was common prey for large predatory dinosaurs, such as "Carcharodontosaurus" and "Spinosaurus".

References