Alamosaurus

Description

Alamosaurus was a large dinosaur which lived approximately 65 to 73 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period. It was first discovered in 1922 in New Mexico and was subsequently named by Smithsonian paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore that same year. An interesting fact about the name of Alamosaurus isn’t named after the Alamo in Texas—although large numbers of this dinosaur have been found in that state. Instead, it was named after the Ojo Alamo sandstone formation in New Mexico.

Alamosaurus was an extremely massive dinosaur which was approximately 70 feet long, 28 feet high and weighed as much as 33 tons. They had extremely long necks which they probably used to browse ground based plant life and had a long tail that they probably used as a whip,

Before this dinosaur was discovered, it was thought that all of the large sauropods in North America had died out at the end of the Jurassic. However, this discovery, as well as the discovery of a large number of them in Texas, has shown that these massive creatures lived in North America through the Cretaceous Period. It is unknown how these dinosaurs came to live in North America, but some paleontologists have speculated that they crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia and then migrated to the southern portion of the continent where the climate was more suitable and stable for them.

Although Alamosaurus lived in the same area as large carnivores such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, it is unlikely that it was hunted by them. A full grown Alamosaurus would have been too large to have been taken down by a solitary T Rex. However, it is quite possible that juvenile members of this species were routinely hunted by large carnivores.

After finding a large number of this dinosaur’s fossils in Texas, paleontologists have done some analysis on the possible number of these dinosaurs which may have lived in Texas at one time. Some estimates say that anywhere from 250,000 to 350,000 of these dinosaurs may have lived in the State at one time, possibly in large herds. 

Alamosaurus Facts:

• Was as long as 2 school buses-bumper to bumper
• Was 3 stories high
• Weighed as much as 5 elephants
• Lived in what is now the southern part of North America
• Lived in large herds of thousands of dinosaurs

Dimensions

Model Dimensions:
Length: 20.0cm
Height: 13.0cm
Width: 6.0cm
  Suitable for ages: 3 plus

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