Adamantisaurus

Adamantisaurus is a poorly-known genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. It is only known from six tail vertebrae but, as a sauropod, it can be assumed that this dinosaur was a very large animal with a long neck and tail. Like many titanosaurians, Adamantisaurus is incompletely known, making its exact relationships difficult to establish. However, similarities have been noted with Aeolosaurus and the Bauru Group titanosaurian formerly known as the "Peiropolis titanosaur", now called Trigonosaurus. Description As Adamantisaurus mezzalirai is only known from the anterior portion of the tail, relatively little is known about the anatomy of this species. It was probably a medium-sized titanosaur. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated it to be roughly 13 meters (43 ft) long and 5 tonnes (5.5 short tons) in weight . However, in 2020 Molina-Pérez and Larramendi gave a larger estimation of 18 meters (60 ft) and 14.4 tonnes (15.8 short tons). Discovery and naming Although this animal's remains were first mentioned in print in 1959, it was not named until the description written by Brazilian paleontologists Rodrigo Santucci and Reinaldo Bertini in 2006. It was the first dinosaur named in that year. The type specimen, the only material known of the genus, consists of the second through seventh caudal vertebrae and two chevrons.