Antarctosaurus

Antarctosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 83 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder:	Sauropoda
(unranked):	Titanosauria
Family:	Antarctosauridae
Genus:	Antarctosaurus von Huene, 1929
Species
A. wichmannianus von Huene, 1929 (type) ?A. giganteus von Huene, 1929 "A." jaxarticus Riabinin, 1939 "A." brasiliensis Arid & Vizotto, 1971

Antarctosaurus (/ænˌtɑːrktoʊˈsɔːrəs/; meaning "southern lizard") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. The type species, A. wichmannianus, was described by prolific German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1929, who also described a second species in 1929. Three additional species of Antarctosaurus have been named since then. Later studies indicate that none of these pertain to Antarctosaurus.

Antarctosaurus was very large, even for a sauropod. Scientists still have much to learn about Antarctosaurus, as a complete skeleton remains elusive.

Antarctosaurus was a huge quadrupedal herbivore with a long neck and tail. It was possibly armoured. As Antarctosaurus is not known from a complete skeleton and tail lengths are highly variable among sauropods, the true size of these animals is hard to extrapolate. The type species may have been over 60 feet (18 meters) long, and a second species may have been one of the largest land animals ever. Antarctosaurus may have been as tall as 15 feet at the shoulder.