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EXHIBIT 85

Saltasaurus

Saltasaurus loricatus

Saltasaurus was an Argentine titanosaur whose fossils preserve bony plates and tiny skin ossicles.

Evidence profile

TWO WAYS TO PICTURE THE PAST

Compare the evidence with the familiar movie image. The illustrations are not to a shared scale.

01 / FOSSIL VIEW

The evidence in the bones

Bony plate PVL 4017-113 of Saltasaurus loricatus shown in external and lateral views with a scale bar.

Saltasaurus loricatus osteoderm PVL 4017-113 from El Brete, Salta, illustrated by Cerda and Powell (2010). This is fossil armour, not a whole-animal reconstruction; the original 20 mm scale is retained. [2]

Saltasaurus.jpg · Ignacio A. Cerda; Jaime E. Powell. CC BY 2.0. Resized proportionally and converted to WebP; no anatomical edits. Same source license applies.

The photograph or figure shows the credited fossil material; displayed mounts and labels can include interpretation.

02 / MOVIE-STYLE INTERPRETATION

A cinematic imagination

Artistic reconstruction of Saltasaurus; colors and soft tissues are illustrative.

Original cinematic interpretation of Saltasaurus loricatus. Coloration, soft tissues and scenery are artistic choices; reconstructed proportions do not establish a measured individual. Lighting, coloration and scenery are artistic choices. This image does not document a fossil locality or behavior.

Original artwork · artistic interpretation.

Scientific view: source-informed reconstruction, credited paleoart or specimen-based imagery. Movie-style view: Original artistic interpretation. Reconstructions involve uncertainty.

PERIODLate Cretaceous[2]
DIETHerbivoreEvidence and uncertainty in the dossier
TOTAL LENGTHSee the dossierEstimate scope matters
FOSSILS FOUNDSalta, Argentina[2]
CompareRead the dossierView the sources

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Saltasaurus

Saltasaurus loricatus was a plant-eating sauropod from Late Cretaceous Argentina. A museum reference of about twelve metres provides an approximate sense of scale, without identifying a complete measured adult. Like other sauropods, it is familiar for a long-necked body plan, but its fossils also preserve something that makes its skin especially interesting. [D1]

At El Brete in Salta, bones were associated with bony plates and much smaller skin bones called ossicles. Studies distinguish their internal structures. The armor was not one uniform layer: large pieces and tiny elements supplied different parts of the covering. [D2]

Famous embryo-bearing eggs at Auca Mahuevo show that sauropods laid eggs, but their original description did not identify Saltasaurus loricatus. They therefore cannot supply this species with a nest layout or a parental-care story. A fossil may give strong evidence for a wider dinosaur group while leaving a particular member's habits unresolved. [D4]

Other bone tissues in saltasaurine dinosaurs have been discussed in connection with reproduction. Their origin is uncertain and may also involve disease. Such tissue does not independently identify reproductive activity. Saltasaurus is better understood by keeping each clue within the question it can actually answer. [D3]

PREHISTORIC ANIMAL DOSSIER

A life in profile.

The animal, the evidence, and the questions still open.

Its armour provides direct evidence of a sauropod’s bony skin structures.

Profile scope: Genus profile centered on Saltasaurus loricatus; museum size is an unspecified reference.

Time
Late Cretaceous
Fossil locations in this exhibit
Salta, Argentina
How to read the evidence

Source supported identifies a description documented by the cited source. Inferred marks a reconstruction or functional estimate. Debated marks competing interpretations. Not established means the sources reviewed for this dossier do not support a firm conclusion; it does not mean a behavior never occurred.

A size reference is an estimate, not a population range. Nesting evidence does not by itself establish courtship, mate choice, or lifelong pairing.

Body length

Inferred

About 12 m; museum reference

The directory does not identify a measured individual, maturity assessment or estimation method. This is not an adult species interval. [D1]

Body mass

Inferred

About 2.5 tonnes; model of PVL 4017-79

Paul’s model appendix estimates 2,480 kg using reconstructed volume, density assumptions and limb scaling. Maturity is unspecified; this is not a species range. [D5]

Diet

Source supported

Plant-eater

The museum identifies herbivory; these sources do not demonstrate a specific plant menu. [D1]

Habitat & fossil setting

Source supported

Lecho Formation, northwestern Argentina

The studied armour comes from El Brete, Salta, in sediments assigned ?late Campanian–Maastrichtian, within the Late Cretaceous. [D2]

Movement

Inferred

Four-legged terrestrial walker

Quadrupedal support by massive limbs follows the reviewed sauropod body plan; species-specific speed remains unestablished. [D6]

Distinctive anatomy

Source supported

Bony plates and tiny dermal ossicles

Associated fossils and thin sections distinguish larger osteoderms from small ossicles arranged in a mosaic. [D2]

Reproduction & life together

Reproduction & nesting

Inferred

Egg-laying inferred; species nests unresolved

Auca Mahuevo embryos support sauropod egg-laying, not Saltasaurus identification. Saltasaurine endosteal tissue also has an uncertain reproductive versus pathological origin. [D4] [D3]

Courtship & mating

Not established

Not established here

The reviewed studies do not establish sexual display, mating posture or mate selection; ambiguous reproductive tissue cannot reconstruct courtship.

Social behavior

Not established

Not established here

Disarticulated animals occurred together at El Brete; that association alone does not establish herd structure or coordinated behavior. [D2]

Dossier research & sources

Sources and inspection notes for the claims in this profile.

  1. SaltasaurusNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Accepted type species, herbivory, Late Cretaceous and 12 m reference; specimen and maturity unspecified. · Inspected: page
  2. Dermal armor histology of Saltasaurus loricatus, an Upper Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur from Northwest ArgentinaActa Palaeontologica Polonica; Cerda & Powell (2010) · Accessed 2026-10-02Published paper excerpts: El Brete, Lecho Formation, PVL 4017-113 plate and ossicles; osteoderms associated with disarticulated animals. · Inspected: excerpt
  3. Vascularised endosteal bone tissue in armoured sauropod dinosaursScientific Reports; Chinsamy, Cerda & Powell (2016) · Accessed 2026-10-02Published abstract and discussion excerpts inspected: saltasaurine endosteal tissues cannot independently establish reproductive status. · Inspected: excerpt
  4. Sauropod dinosaur embryos from the Late Cretaceous of PatagoniaNature; Chiappe and colleagues (1998), author-deposited published article · Accessed 2026-10-02Published identification paragraphs: Auca Mahuevo sauropod embryos, inferred titanosaurs; no assignment to Saltasaurus loricatus. · Inspected: excerpt
  5. The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs: model mass-estimate appendixPrinceton University Press; Gregory S. Paul, author’s model appendix · Accessed 2026-10-02Author’s original model table and method header: Saltasaurus PVL 4017-79, 2,480 kg; estimated volume, density and limb scaling. Appendix update date unspecified. · Inspected: excerpt
  6. Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: the evolution of gigantismBiological Reviews; Sander and colleagues (2011) · Accessed 2026-10-02Sauropod-wide quadrupedal limb mechanics; does not establish a Saltasaurus speed or gait sequence. · Inspected: excerpt

THE STORY IN THE FOSSILS

Meet Saltasaurus.

Saltasaurus changed understanding of sauropod skin: osteoderms were found associated with its bones. Studied plates and much smaller ossicles preserve different internal tissue structures. [2]

Auca Mahuevo’s embryo-bearing eggs provide strong sauropod reproductive evidence. Their original description did not identify Saltasaurus loricatus, so this profile leaves its particular nesting behavior unresolved. [4]

A note on scale and time

The dossier identifies the scope of each reference estimate. A mount, an individual fossil and a species-wide adult range are different measurements. Comparison metrics remain unavailable where adult scope has not been established. Unknown does not mean zero.

Sources & editorial notes

Sources support the stated claims and scopes. Refer to the evidence notes for uncertainty.

  1. SaltasaurusNatural History Museum, London · Accessed 2026-10-02Accepted type species, herbivory, Late Cretaceous and 12 m reference; specimen and maturity unspecified. · Inspected: page
  2. Dermal armor histology of Saltasaurus loricatus, an Upper Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur from Northwest ArgentinaActa Palaeontologica Polonica; Cerda & Powell (2010) · Accessed 2026-10-02Published paper excerpts: El Brete, Lecho Formation, PVL 4017-113 plate and ossicles; osteoderms associated with disarticulated animals. · Inspected: excerpt
  3. Vascularised endosteal bone tissue in armoured sauropod dinosaursScientific Reports; Chinsamy, Cerda & Powell (2016) · Accessed 2026-10-02Published abstract and discussion excerpts inspected: saltasaurine endosteal tissues cannot independently establish reproductive status. · Inspected: excerpt
  4. Sauropod dinosaur embryos from the Late Cretaceous of PatagoniaNature; Chiappe and colleagues (1998), author-deposited published article · Accessed 2026-10-02Published identification paragraphs: Auca Mahuevo sauropod embryos, inferred titanosaurs; no assignment to Saltasaurus loricatus. · Inspected: excerpt
  5. The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs: model mass-estimate appendixPrinceton University Press; Gregory S. Paul, author’s model appendix · Accessed 2026-10-02Author’s original model table and method header: Saltasaurus PVL 4017-79, 2,480 kg; estimated volume, density and limb scaling. Appendix update date unspecified. · Inspected: excerpt
  6. Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: the evolution of gigantismBiological Reviews; Sander and colleagues (2011) · Accessed 2026-10-02Sauropod-wide quadrupedal limb mechanics; does not establish a Saltasaurus speed or gait sequence. · Inspected: excerpt

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