Pronunciation: bah-RO-suh-SOR-us
Meaning: Sierra Barrosa Lizard
Author/s: Salgado and Coria (2009)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Neuquén, Argentina
Acta Ordinal: #692
Barrosasaurus casamiquelai
Although similar sounding, Barrosasaurus and Barosaurus were like chalk and cheese. The latter is a diplodocid: impressive in total length but short in the torso, with the longest neck of all known North American sauropods and a name that literally means "heavy lizard", while the former, despite being an actual heavy lizard, is not.
Barrosasaurus is a titanosaur: the chunky, broad-chested, wide-load sauropods, some of which are at least partially armoured. As of 2020, it is known entirely from a trio of back vertebrae, but they're spectacularly well preserved, right down to the delicate internal architecture which is usually lost as a result of weathering.
Barrosasaurus is a titanosaur: the chunky, broad-chested, wide-load sauropods, some of which are at least partially armoured. As of 2020, it is known entirely from a trio of back vertebrae, but they're spectacularly well preserved, right down to the delicate internal architecture which is usually lost as a result of weathering.
(Casamiquela's Sierra Barrosa lizard)Etymology
Barrosasaurus is derived from "Barrosa" (for the Sierra Barrosa locality where its holotype was found) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, casamiquelai, honours the late Argentine palaeontologist Rodolfo Magín Casamiquela (1932–2008) for his important contributions to the development of Earth Sciences in Argentina.
Discovery
The remains of Barrosasaurus were discovered in the Anacleto Formation (Neuquén Group) at Sierra Barrosa, Neuquén province, Argentina, by Alberto Garrido.The holotype (MCF-PVPH-447/1-3) consists of three large and incomplete, although well-preserved, back vertebrae from a single individual.
