Argentinosaurus Facts for Kids
ar-jen-TEEN-oh-SORE-us · its name means “Argentina lizard”
One of the biggest animals ever to walk on land.
Argentinosaurus was a giant plant-eater. It was one of the biggest dinosaurs ever. It lived in South America.
Argentinosaurus was a sauropod, with a long neck and a long tail, and it was enormous. Scientists have found only some of its bones, including back bones bigger than a person, so its size is an estimate.
Argentinosaurus is one of the largest land animals known. Because only parts of the skeleton have been found, scientists estimate its size by comparing its bones with those of better-known cousins. Its eggs were small for such a giant, and the babies grew very fast.
Every dinosaur number is scientists’ best guess from bones, so each one says where it came from.
How big was Argentinosaurus?
Argentinosaurus in numbers
| Length (nose to tail) | 120 ft37 m1more than; scientists' estimate |
|---|---|
| Height at the hips | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 110 tons100 tonnes1up to; scientists' estimate |
| When it lived | 100 million years ago100 million years ago1about |
| What it ate | leaves from tall trees |
| Fossils found in | Patagonia, in the south of Argentina |
| What kind | a sauropod: a giant long-necked plant-eater |
Wow!
- Some of its back bones were taller than a person.
- Scientists know it from only part of a skeleton.
- Even so, a blue whale is heavier.
🦴 Argentinosaurus’s bones
Books about Argentinosaurus, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about Argentinosaurus for free.
Where was the land back then?
The continents were in different places when Argentinosaurus lived, 100 million years ago. Open Planet Earth, pick Drifting continents, and slide back in time to see where the land was.
Its neighbours in time
Where these numbers come from
- Smithsonian Institution, educator's guide to Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Argentinosaurus (Q130859), checked 30 October 2026.
To read more: the Natural History Museum’s Dino Directory (see also, not copied).