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Giants of the Mesozoic

Stand beneath some of the world's largest dinosaurs as you enter this snapshot of life in prehistoric Patagonia (145-165 million years ago). Take in a scene of an epic dinosaur battle between Giganotosaurus and Argentinosaurus with a flock of pterosaurs scattering away.

Play the role of a paleontologist as you examine the terrain to discover buried and trace fossils of other plant and animal species, such as dinosaur tracks, an Araucaria tree, a crocodile and a turtle shell.*

Exhibit Highlights

Argentinosaurus

  • ar-gin-TEEN-oh-SAWR-us
  • Dinosaur weighing over 100 tons
  • Name means "Argentine Lizard"
  • Plant-eater feasted primarily on conifers
  • Lived 90 million years ago
  • Measured more than 123 feet long, the length of nearly four school buses

Giganotosaurus

  • gee-ga-NOH-toh-SAWR-us
  • Meat-eating dinosaur measuring 47 feet long and weighing 8-10 tons
  • Ferocious hunger with 6-foot-long skull and 8-inch-long, knife-like teeth
  • Name means "Great Southern Lizard"
  • Lived 95 million years ago
  • Nearly four feet longer than Tyrannosaurus rex

Anhanguera

  • AN-han-GER-uh
  • Flying reptile, or pterosaur
  • Lived 120 million years ago
  • Name means "Old Devil”
  • Wingspan measured 18-19 feet
  • Diet consisted of fish, which were likely consumed while in flight

Pterodaustro

  • TER-oh-DAS-troh
  • Pterosaur
  • Name means "Wing of the South"
  • A flock of 21 pterosaurs soars above atrium
  • Wingspan of 52 inches
  • Lived 125 million years ago

We are grateful to the following sponsors, whose generosity has made this exhibition possible: Miller Family Foundation; Wells Fargo Foundation; Livingston Foundation, Inc.; The David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund; The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation; The Raymond M. Cash Foundation, Inc.; United Parcel Service; The Price Gilbert, Jr. Charitable Fund; and Frances Wood Wilson Foundation, Inc.

*The fossils on display in Giants of the Mesozoic are cast replicas of the original specimens. The fossilized bones remain in Argentina, where they are protected as a national treasure.