Ampelosaurus

Ampelosaurus ( AM-pi-loh-SOR-əs; meaning "vine lizard") is a titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now France. Its type species is A. atacis, named by Le Loeuff in 1995. Its remains were found in a level dating from 71.5 million years ago, representing the early Maastrichtian. Ampelosaurus would have had a long neck and tail — like most sauropods — but it also carried armor in the form of osteoderms. In 2005, over 500 bones had been assigned to Ampelosaurus. Additional material has been found since, including a partially articulated skeleton with skull, which makes it one of the best known dinosaurs in France. However, recent studies suggest that the type locality is not a monospecific titanosaur bone bed and that part of the bones attributed to Ampelosaurus probably belong to a second titanosaurian taxon. Ampelosaurus lived on what was the Ibero-Armorican Island, a landmass including much of present-day France and Iberian Peninsula. Histological studies show characteristics related to an island environment such as a slowed growth rate. However, with a size of about 14 m (46 ft) in length for the largest known individual, Ampelosaurus was not an insular dwarf unlike some other Ibero-Armorican titanosaurs like Lirainosaurus and Atsinganosaurus, or the genus Magyarosaurus from the Hateg island. Several specimens found elsewhere in France and Spain were referred to Ampelosaurus but were later identified as belonging to other titanosaurs.