Bonitasaura

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Bonitasaura 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (86–83 Mya)
Place
Argentina
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.
Bonitasaura reconstruction by IJReid
Reconstruction · IJReid (CC-BY)

Bonitasaura is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur hailing from uppermost layers of the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Bajo de la Carpa Formation, Neuquén Group of the eastern Neuquén Basin, located in Río Negro Province, Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The remains, consisting of a partial sub-adult skeleton jumbled in a small area of fluvial sandstone, including a lower jaw with teeth, a partial vertebrae series, and limb bones, were described by Sebastian Apesteguía in 2004.

The genus name Bonitasaura refers to the fossil quarry’s name, “La Bonita”, while the name of the type species, B. salgadoi, pays homage to Leonardo Salgado, a renowned Argentine paleontologist.

What we know

  • Named by Apesteguía, 2004.
  • Fossils found in Argentina.

What we guess

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