The Saltasaurus lived about 83 to 79 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period. This large dinosaur had a small head on an elongated neck. The legs were strong and stocky with five toes on each foot. It had a sturdy tail tapering to a slender whiplash. For protection, the saltasaurus was covered with bony armored plates, about the size of a human palm, on its back and sides. These plates may have had horns or spikes protruding, but this is uncertain.
Food
The Saltasaurus was a herbivore. The long neck helped it feed on vegetation that would have been too high up to reach for smaller herbivores. Maybe this dinosaur could reach even taller than that to feed, by rearing up on its hind legs and supporting itself with the tail.
Habitat
Salta is the name of a province in northwestern Argentina, and that is the place where the fossils of the Saltasaurus were found. There has also been some discoveries of bones in Uruguay.
Predators
Saltasaurus was not one of the largest dinosaurs. Its relatively small size made it vulnerable to attack by big carnivorous dinosaurs. But any animal that tried to leap upon the Saltasaurus back would have stubbed its claws and snapped off teeth when trying sink them into the rock-hard armour in Saltasaurus’s tough hide.
Social Structure
Saltasaurus would have walked on land, on all four legs. It probably moved around in herds for protection.
Birth & Offspring
The Saltasaurus laid eggs.
Lydia King is a huge animal lover and has always been fascinated with learning about the animal kingdom. She enjoys writing about anything animal related from scientific information about rare species to animal references in pop culture.
