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titanosaur

titanosaur

9.9
A very large dinosaur that eats plants, with a long thin neck and long tail
  • noun
  • /taɪˈtænəˌsɔr/
translation icon : titanosaurio
  • The titanosaur, one of the largest dinosaurs known, roamed the earth during the Cretaceous period.
  • sauropods called titanosaurs

Examples

  • Opposite page: Leaving only footprints, adult titanosaurs move off, while precocial hatchlings venture out of the nests.

    Academic text (2002)
  • In successful nesting seasons, when floods did not inundate the nesting ground and predation was not severe, many young titanosaurs would survive.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The Titanosaur herd should be right across this valley.

  • Well, according to the satellite imagery, the Titanosaur herd stays in the central valley.

  • So we knew that some titanosaurs did lay eggs similar to the large round ones discovered elsewhere.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The titanosaurs of Auca Mahuevo, left, reached lengths of 40 to 50 feet.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The bony structure of the skulls is very similar to that found in a group of South American sauropods called titanosaurs.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Folded within the 6-inch-diameter egg and nourished by the yolk sac, a titanosaur is almost ready to emerge, left.

    Academic text (2002)
  • If the adult titanosaurs stayed in the area after the eggs were laid, they may well have patrolled the borders of the nesting ground to keep potential predators away from both the herd and the hatchlings.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Fortunately for us, a few of the Auca Mahuevo titanosaurs chose to deposit their eggs on the sand of a dry streambed instead of on the muddy floodplain.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

titanosaurian
vstitanosaur
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A very large dinosaur that eats plants and has four legs and a long neck and tail

is the descriptive label stressing massive size and a long whiplike tail

Surface Forms

titanosaur singular
titanosaurs plural

Morphology

titanosaur = titan (semi-transparent) = titan + saur

The element 'titan' conveys great size clearly, but '-saur' is a bound combining form (not a standalone English word) and may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

Titanosaur comes from Titan, a name for very large beings, and -saur from a Greek word meaning 'lizard', the same part in dinosaur. So a titanosaur is like a 'Titan lizard', which explains its huge size.