Patagotitan mayorum PAT-uh-go-TIE-tan
"Patagonian giant"
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Patagotitan 37 m (121 ft) long
22 people holding hands
- Length
- 37 m (121 ft) — About 37 m long, ~70 tonnes — possibly the largest dinosaur known from good remains.
- Period
- Early Cretaceous (102–95 Mya)
- Place
- South America · Argentina · Patagonia
- Food
- Herbivore — Mid-canopy plants — its long neck reached most of what a forest could offer.
Patagotitan was named in 2017 from a remarkably complete bonebed in Patagonia — six individuals found together, with enough bones to actually reconstruct the whole animal. It rivaled Argentinosaurus in size but is better known. A cast of its skeleton is so large the American Museum of Natural History had to put its head out the door of its exhibit hall.
What we know
- Named in 2017 from six individuals found in one quarry in Patagonia.
- Largest dinosaur known from a complete-enough skeleton to be confidently measured.
- Skeleton cast displayed at the American Museum of Natural History.
- Lived in what was then a warm, humid floodplain.
What we guess
- Whether Patagotitan or Argentinosaurus was actually larger — current estimates favor Patagotitan slightly.
- How a single body could function with such a long neck — extreme circulation challenges.
- Whether the bonebed represents a herd that died together or individuals deposited over years.