Super Saurs
Argentinosaurus huinculensis

The ninth coin in the Supersaurs series features Argentinosaurus huinculensis, the largest and heaviest land animal to have ever walked the earth. Between 30 and 40 metres in length and weighing 60  to 90 tons, Argentinosaurus lived in what is now South America some 94 million years ago.

The biggest behemoth

Little is known about the Argentinosaurus as only a few remains, including vertebrae, ribs, a shin and a femur, have been found. A limited fossil record is not atypical for sauropods because their massive carcasses would have disintegrated quickly after their demise and been split up and carried off by scavengers. By comparing the behemoth with better preserved sauropods, however, experts believe that Argentinosaurus had a small head, a long neck and tail, a barrel-shaped trunk and four columnar legs. Its enormous weight limited Argentinosaurus’ ability to move at speed, although it is presumed that it did not need to be fast because its vast size meant that it rarely had to flee.

Argentinosaurus huinculensis features all 12 of the extreme prehistoric animals in the Supersaurs series in silhouette on its obverse, while a colour-printed Argentinosaurus is shown in the company of another member of its species and a pair of Pterosaurs on the coin’s glow-in-the-dark reverse. The 3 euro Supersaurs coins are legal tender in Austria.

2021 04 Argentinosaurus (PDF | 1.79 MB)