“Among the Largest Animals to Walk on Land”
Binomial Argentinosaurus huinculensis · ar-jen-TEE-noh-SORE-us
Late Cretaceous - 97-93 Ma
IllustrationArgentinosaurus fossil records in Fossil Atlas are mapped as selected modern discovery locations, with 1 source-backed records currently shown. Neuquen Province, Argentina, especially Huincul Formation context in the current atlas. Key mapped formations in the current dataset include Huincul Formation. These pins are fossil record locations, not a complete ancient habitat map.
Argentinosaurus was an enormous titanosaur sauropod from Cretaceous Argentina. Fossil Atlas presents a source-backed locality point and caveats around fragmentary giant-sauropod evidence.
Drawn true to scale on a metre ruler.
Length
measured30 m · 98 ft
Largest known specimens
Height
measured15 m (49 ft)
Body mass
estimate70,000 kg · 154,000 lb
Typical adult
Top speed
estimate8 km/h · 5 mph
Modelled, debated
Argentinosaurus was an enormous titanosaur sauropod from Cretaceous Argentina. Its fossil record is fragmentary, consisting mainly of vertebrae, ribs, and parts of a tibia, which means size estimates carry substantial uncertainty. Even the lower end of the estimates puts it among the largest land animals in Earth's history. At this body mass, continuous feeding would have been necessary, and juveniles would have been far more vulnerable to predators than fully grown adults.
Size
Estimated at 30-40 metres in length and 70-80 tonnes depending on method and which specimens are used. The fragmentary evidence means all these figures are approximations rather than confirmed measurements.
The vertebrae
The preserved dorsal vertebrae are among the largest ever found, with single vertebrae exceeding 1.5 metres in height. They are the most diagnostic element for size estimates.
Growth
To reach the sizes estimated, Argentinosaurus would have had among the fastest growth rates of any known dinosaur, comparable in absolute mass gain per year to a modern blue whale.
Defense
At full adult size, Argentinosaurus had no serious predators. Juveniles were vulnerable to the large carcharodontosaurids sharing the ecosystem.
Position of this animal’s known range across 252 million years of the Mesozoic and beyond.
97-93 million years ago
Argentinosaurus is often discussed among the largest dinosaurs yet known.
Its fossil evidence is fragmentary but enormous.
The page needs careful wording: size estimates are impressive but not the same as complete skeleton evidence.
Guillermo Heredia found the first bones on his ranch in Neuquen Province in 1987. Jose Bonaparte and Rodolfo Coria published the formal description in 1993. The fragmentary nature of the specimen has made Argentinosaurus a frequent subject of caution in palaeontology writing: the animal is almost certainly real and very large, but specific size figures in popular media often exceed what the evidence directly supports. A separate titanosaur, Patagotitan mayorum, described in 2017 from more complete material, is sometimes presented as comparable in size.
Animals known from the same deposits and time as Argentinosaurus.
Giganotosaurus
A giant carcharodontosaurid predator from overlapping deposits and the main predatory threat to juvenile Argentinosaurus.
Mapusaurus
A closely related carcharodontosaurid found in a bonebed that may indicate group hunting of large sauropods.
Limaysaurus
A rebbachisaurid sauropod from the same formation, showing the broader herbivore community Argentinosaurus lived within.
Other members of Titanosauria.
Brachiosaurus
A more distantly related giant sauropod from the Jurassic, showing the deep history of very large sauropods.
Patagotitan
A titanosaur from Argentina described in 2017 that rivals Argentinosaurus in size estimates, from more complete material.
Saltasaurus
A smaller titanosaur from later in the Cretaceous with dermal armor, showing the diversity within the titanosaur group.
Pins show selected fossil records for Argentinosaurus; use them as modern discovery evidence, not a complete range map. Modern fossil discovery map: pins show where selected fossil and specimen records were found today, not ancient Earth positions. What does this mean?
Specimen evidence
No open specimen media or embeddable model assets are available in the local enrichment data yet.
Argentinosaurus is represented here by selected fossil records from neuquen province, argentina, especially huincul formation context in the current atlas. Fossil Atlas maps those records as modern discovery locations.
No. The map shows modern fossil discovery locations from selected records. Ancient habitat and paleogeographic reconstructions are separate questions.
The current Fossil Atlas records include Huincul Formation. Formation coverage depends on the selected dataset and may not be complete.
Yes. Use the expedition card generator to turn the Argentinosaurus map and specimen profile into a shareable card.
Selected fossil records from PBDB and museum biodiversity aggregators. This is not a complete fossil count by country; source labels and confidence notes help distinguish canonical paleobiology records from specimen-media records.
Reconstruction images are labeled illustrations and do not represent fossil evidence. Size, speed, and bite-force figures are typical published estimates and remain subject to revision as new specimens are described.
Maps use curated PBDB, museum, and specimen-source records with visible caveats.
Pins show where fossils were found or reported today, not exact ancient habitat positions.
Artwork is labeled separately from specimen photos, maps, and source records.
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