Ampelosaurus

sauropod · Late Cretaceous · France · titanosaur

Massive plant-eater. Ampelosaurus was a titanosaur, one of the biggest plant-eating dinosaurs ever. These creatures had extremely long necks to reach high leaves and weighed as much as several elephants combined.

French fossil site. Scientists found Ampelosaurus bones in southern France in rocks dated to 71.5 million years ago. This was near the end of the dinosaur age, during a time called the Maastrichtian.

Named for vines. The name Ampelosaurus comes from 'ampelos,' the Greek word for vine, because fossils were found in areas with ancient grapevines. It's a way of honoring where the dinosaur was discovered.

Armor-plated dinosaur. Unlike many sauropods, Ampelosaurus had bony plates running along its back and sides for protection. These armor plates made it unique among its long-necked relatives.