Dinosaurs A to Z
Diplodocidae

Ardetosaurus viator

"crumbly"

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Ardetosaurus 40 m (131 ft) long
as long as 23 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic sauropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Ardetosaurus
Length
40 m (131 ft)
Period
Late Jurassic (150.4–149.2 Mya)
Place
United States · Germany · Netherlands · Switzerland
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Diplodocidae Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Whip-tailed sauropods: Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, Brontosaurus.
Ardetosaurus reconstruction by Ole Zant
Reconstruction · Ole Zant (CC-BY)

Ardetosaurus is an extinct genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Morrison Formation of northern Wyoming, United States. The genus contains a single species, Ardetosaurus viator. It was first described in 2024 on the basis of a partial articulated skeleton, including vertebrae from the neck, back, and tail, hip bones, and part of the left hindlimb. The genus is a member of the Diplodocinae, a subfamily of large long-necked dinosaurs with whiplike tails. Ardetosaurus represents one of many distinct sauropod taxa that coexisted in this formation.

The Ardetosaurus holotype was collected in 1993 before being shipped to Switzerland, from which it was later sent to Germany, where it was damaged by a museum fire, and later the Netherlands, where it is now housed.

What we know

  • Named by van der Linden et al., 2024.
  • Body length estimated at about 40 m.
  • Fossils found in United States and Germany.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Ardetosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.