Genus
Valid Extinct

Rocasaurus

Salgado and Azpilicueta 2000

Rocasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod that lived in South America. Rocasaurus was discovered in Argentina in 2000, within the Allen Formation which is dated to be middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian in age. This genus grew up to 8 metres (26 ft) long, making it one of the smaller sauropods. It seems to be closely related to saltasaurid dinosaurs, like Saltasaurus and Neuquensaurus. The type species, Rocasaurus muniozi, was formally described by Leonardo Salgado and Azpilicueta in 2000.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
4
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Rocasaurus
click to enlarge
Rocasaurus muniozi. A and C, left femur (MPCA-Pv 46/16) in posterior and distal view. B, left ilium (MPCA-Pv 46/12) in lateral view. D, left ischium (MPCA-Pv 46/11) in lateral view. E, left pubis (MPCA-Pv 46/15) in lateral view. © Rodolfo A. Garcia and Leonardo Salgado · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Saurischia Unranked clade
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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
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Massopoda Unranked clade
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Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
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Sauropoda Unranked clade
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Gravisauria Unranked clade
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Eusauropoda Unranked clade
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Neosauropoda Unranked clade
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Macronaria Unranked clade
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Titanosauriformes Unranked clade
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Somphospondyli Unranked clade
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Titanosauria Unranked clade
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Lithostrotia Unranked clade
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Saltasauroidea Superfamily
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Lohuecosauria Unranked clade
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Saltasauridae Unranked clade
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Saltasaurinae Subfamily
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Rocasaurus Genus
Fossil sites 4 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇦🇷 Argentina
4
Geological formations
Allen
4
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
4
Species (1)
Rocasaurus muniozi 72 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
L. Salgado and C. Azpilicueta. 2000. Un nuevo saltasaurino (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) de la provincia de Río Negro (Formación Allen, Cretácico Superior), Patagonia, Argentina [A new saltasaurine (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) from Río Negro province (Allen Formation, Upper Cretaceous), Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana 37(3):259-264
Bibliography (3)
D. Pol, E. Vlachos, and F. Aspromonte. 2023. The end of the dinosaur era in Patagonia (NatGeo Project).
M. Aranciaga Rolando, J. A. Garcia Marsà, and F. L. Agnolín, M. J. Motta, S. Rozadilla, F. E. Novas. 2022. The sauropod record of Salitral Ojo del Agua: A Upper Cretaceous (Allen Formation) fossiliferous locality from northern Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research 129:105029:1-25 DOI ↗
L. Salgado and C. Azpilicueta. 2000. Un nuevo saltasaurino (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) de la provincia de Río Negro (Formación Allen, Cretácico Superior), Patagonia, Argentina [A new saltasaurine (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) from Río Negro province (Allen Formation, Upper Cretaceous), Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana 37(3):259-264