About Sidersaura marae:

• It is a new species of sauropod dinosaur.
• It lived during the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous epoch, between 96 and 93 million years ago, in today’s Patagonian region.
• It belongs to the Rebbachisauridae, a large family of sauropod dinosaurs known from fragmentary fossil remains from South America, Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia.
  • These dinosaurs are distinguished from other sauropods by their distinctive teeth. Some species had tooth batteries similar to those of hadrosaurs and ceratopsian dinosaurs.
  • Rebbachisaurids were very important dinosaurs in Cretaceous ecosystems and disappeared in the middle of this period in an extinction event that took place 90 million years ago.
• It is one of the last rebbachisaurids.
• Features of Sidersaura marae:
  • It was up to 20 m in length, had an estimated mass of 15 tons, and had a very long tail.
  • One of the characteristics that distinguishes Sidersaura marae from other dinosaurs is the star-shaped shape of the Hemal arches (tail bones).
  • Its skull bones are robust, unlike those of the rest of its closest relatives.
  • Another cranial feature that differentiates Sidersaura marae from other rebbachisaurids is its frontoparietal foramen, which is basically a hole in the roof of the skull.

What are sauropods?

• Sauropods are any member of the dinosaur subgroup Sauropoda, marked by their large size, a long neck and tail, a four-legged stance, and an herbivorous diet.
• They were the largest of all dinosaurs and the largest land animals that ever lived.
• Geographically, these animals were widespread, with remains in the form of bones or footprints having been found on all of the continents except Antarctica.