43Mesozoic
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus sastrei
Brow horns, a deep skull and extremely reduced arms marked this fast abelisaurid.
Southern South America
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Dinosaurs of South America
Meet South American dinosaurs from Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus to giant titanosaurs and theropods, using records from Argentina and Brazil.
Places, environments and evidence
Argentina’s Ischigualasto deposits preserve early dinosaurs, while younger Patagonian rocks record very different animals. The Brazilian Irritator profile adds a lagoon-and-estuary setting to the selection. A modern continental label brings these records together for comparison without implying that Patagonia and Brazil shared one fauna throughout the Mesozoic.
44Mesozoic
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus carolinii
A giant narrow-skulled theropod shared its world with immense sauropods.
South America · Present-day Argentina
85Mesozoic
Herrerasaurus
Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis
One of the earliest large dinosaurs was a lightly built two-legged predator.
Southwestern Pangaea · Present-day Argentina
106Mesozoic
Argentinosaurus
Argentinosaurus huinculensis
A handful of colossal vertebrae and limb bones indicate one of the largest land animals known.
South America · Present-day Argentina
109Mesozoic
Amargasaurus
Amargasaurus cazaui
Two rows of elongated neck spines made its profile unique, though their soft-tissue covering remains debated.
South America · Present-day Argentina
171Mesozoic
Eoraptor
Eoraptor lunensis
A lightly built one-meter animal ran on two legs with both sharp and leaf-shaped teeth in its jaws.
Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina
280Mesozoic
Saltasaurus
Saltasaurus loricatus
Small bony plates embedded in the skin showed that some titanosaurs carried armor.
Semi-arid floodplains · Argentina
331Mesozoic
Jakapil
Jakapil kaniukura
A small plant eater combined low armor with an unusually deep jaw.
Arid dunes and oases · Patagonia, Argentina
454Mesozoic
Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus schrani
A relatively complete skeleton makes this giant titanosaur unusually measurable.
Floodplain woodland · Patagonia, Argentina
455Mesozoic
Bajadasaurus
Bajadasaurus pronuspinax
Paired neck spines curved forward and may have carried keratin or soft tissue.
Semi-arid river valley · Argentina
495Mesozoic
Irritator
Irritator challengeri
A long snout, conical teeth and low crest belonged to a spinosaurid that frequently ate fish.
Lagoon and estuary · Northeastern Brazil
536Mesozoic
Mapusaurus
Mapusaurus roseae
This giant carcharodontosaurid shared plains with enormous sauropods and is known from a multi-individual bone bed.
Open floodplain · Argentina
Common questions
Does South America mean Argentina only?
No. Argentina is one part of the continent. Its country guide uses narrower locality evidence and excludes Brazilian records such as Irritator.