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Puertasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous Period, only known from a single specimen recovered from sedimentary rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in southwestern Patagonia, Argentina. These rocks probably are Campanian to Maastrichtian in age (from 80-65 million years ago), making Puertasaurus one of the youngest giant sauropods.
The only species is Puertasaurus reuili. Described by the paleontologist Fernando Novas and colleagues in 2005, it was named in honor of Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, who discovered and prepared the specimen. It consists of four well-preserved vertebrae, including one cervical, one dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae. Puertasaurus is a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous.
Although there is no doubt that Puertasaurus was one of the largest known dinosaurs, its size is very difficult to estimate because good material is lacking. Novas estimated it to be more than 35 meters long and weigh between 80,000-100,000 kg. This would place it as significantly larger than Argentinosaurus, famous for also being very large by dinosaur standards. In 2012, Thomas Holtz estimated Puertasaurus to have been potentially 30 meters long and 72,500-80,000 kg.
In 2013, the entire neck was estimated to have been approximately 9 meters long by Mike Taylor and Matt Wedel. Later the same year, Scott Hartman made a reconstruction that suggested a shorter total length than other estimates, at 27 meters. But this reconstruction still suggested a very large animal, with his estimate possibly indicating a size up to 70,000 kg. In 2016, Gregory S. Paul estimated a length of 30 meters or more and a weight of 50,000 kg or more. In 2017, paleontologist José Carballido and his colleagues estimated its mass at roughly 60,000 kg. In 2019, Gregory S. Paul estimated the mass of Puertasaurus to be in the size range of its relative Patagotitan at 45,000-55,000 kg.
The largest of the four preserved bones is the dorsal vertebra, which at 1.68 meters (5 ft 6 in) wide is the broadest known vertebra of any sauropod, indicating a very robust torso. When Puertasaurus was alive, the Cerro Fortaleza Formation would have been a humid, forested landscape. Puertasaurus would have shared its habitat with other dinosaurs, including another large sauropod, Dreadnoughtus, in addition to other reptiles and fish.
