Amargasaurus

Amargasaurus is a genus of small sauropod dinosaurs from Early Cretaceous Argentina, known for two rows of elongated spines along its neck and back.

Sauropoda: Sauropoda is the dinosaur clade containing the long-necked, usually large-bodied herbivores such as Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus. Amargasaurus belongs to this clade despite being smaller than many of its better-known members.
Amargasaurus cazaui: Amargasaurus cazaui is the type and only currently recognized species of the genus Amargasaurus. Its fossils provide the evidence for the genus’s distinctive anatomy.
Sail (anatomy): An anatomical sail is a skin-covered structure supported by elongated bones or other internal elements. A sail is one proposed interpretation of the tissue spanning Amargasaurus’s paired spines.
José Bonaparte: José Bonaparte was an Argentine vertebrate paleontologist who described many South American dinosaur fossils. Bonaparte and colleagues named Amargasaurus from material discovered in Argentina.
Dicraeosauridae: Dicraeosauridae is a family of relatively small, short-necked sauropod dinosaurs with distinctive vertebral anatomy. This family provides the closest taxonomic context for Amargasaurus.
La Amarga Formation: The La Amarga Formation is an Early Cretaceous geological formation in Neuquén Province, Argentina. Amargasaurus fossils were discovered in this formation.
Osteoderm: An osteoderm is a bone formed within the skin, sometimes serving as armor or structural support. A keratin-covered spine has been proposed as an alternative to a continuous sail.
Neuquén Basin: The Neuquén Basin is a sedimentary basin in western Argentina containing extensive Mesozoic fossil deposits. Its rocks preserve the formations and dinosaur fossils associated with Amargasaurus.
Neck vertebra: A neck vertebra is one of the bones forming the cervical portion of an animal’s spine. Its unusually elongated neck vertebrae supported Amargasaurus’s paired spines.
Dicraeosaurus: Dicraeosaurus is a genus of dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaurs known from Late Jurassic deposits in Tanzania. It is a close relative whose anatomy helps frame comparisons with Amargasaurus.

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