Saltasaurus, like other sauropods, was a plant eater. During the period that it lived, the Late Cretaceous, sauropods in many regions were no longer as prominent as they had been in the Jurassic Period, having been replaced by ceratopsian dinosaurs and duck-billed ornithopods. However, sauropods continued to develop into the Late Cretaceous in places like Africa, and in South America, where Saltasaurus was found.
Saltasaurus’s crocodile-like bone armor may have dissuaded predators from attacking it. Previously, scientists had assumed that the large size of sauropods was enough to keep most predators at bay. Saltasaurus cast some doubt on this claim. However, it should be noted that Saltasaurus, while not a small dinosaur, was much smaller than most other sauropods. Patagotitan, another titanosaur, is thought to have reached a length of over 100 feet.
