Mesetasaurus protector: New Late‑Cretaceous Sauropod Discovered in Uruguay

Scientists have described a new sauropod dinosaur, Mesetasaurus protector, from skeletal remains found in the Paysandu department of Uruguay. The specimen belongs to the Aeolosaurini clade of titanosaurs and lived between 86 and 72 million years ago, persisting into the latest Cretaceous.

The find adds to Uruguay’s growing record of giant sauropods, joining earlier discoveries such as the udelartytan. Its survival until the end of the Cretaceous highlights South America as a stronghold for large titanosaur lineages that disappeared elsewhere earlier in the period.