Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur containing a single species, Dreadnoughtus schrani. D. schrani is known from two partial skeletons discovered in Upper Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian; approximately 76–70 Ma) rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is one of the largest terrestrial vertebrates known, with the immature type specimen measuring 26 metres (85 ft) in total body length and weighing 48–49 metric tons (53–54 short tons) (the greatest mass of any land animal that can be calculated with reasonable certainty). D. schrani is known from more complete skeletons than any other gigantic titanosaurian.
| Dreadnoughtus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Skeletal restoration showing known elements | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Clade: | †Lithostrotia |
| Genus: | †Dreadnoughtus Lacovara et al., 2014 |
| Species: | †D. schrani |
| Binomial name | |
| †Dreadnoughtus schrani Lacovara et al., 2014 | |
Drexel University paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara, who discovered the species, chose the name Dreadnoughtus, which means “fears nothing", stating “I think it’s time the herbivores get their due for being the toughest creatures in an environment."