Abrosaurus
Name:
Abrosaurus
(Delicate lizard).
Phonetic: Ab-roe-sore-us.
Named By: Ouyang - 1989.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Macronaria.
Species: A. dongpoi (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Estimated around 9 meters long.
Known locations: China - Sichuan Province -
Dashanpu/Lower Shaximiao Formation.
Time period: Bathonian/Callovian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Initially based upon a
skull, further fossils included post cranial remains have been
attributed to the genus.
The
lightly built skull of Abrosaurus (which is the
inspiration for the
name ‘delicate lizard’) clearly indicates that it was a macronarian
sauropod,
similar to genera such as Brachiosaurus
and Camarasaurus.
Camarasaurus in particular has been considered to
be a very close
relative of Abrosaurus because they both seem to
represent basal
(primitive) genera that were on the way to becoming more advanced
like the later macronarian sauropods. The idea is tentative however
because most descriptions of Abrosaurus centre
around the skull and not
the additional post cranial skeletal fossils that were later attributed
to it. While future study of these remains may well confirm the idea
that Abrosaurus is closely related to Camarasaurus,
they may also
reveal something unexpected.
Abrosaurus
likely shared is habitat with other sauropods like Omeisaurus,
Shunosaurus
and Dashanpusaurus
(another possible relative of
Camarasaurus) as well as other types of
herbivorous dinosaur such as
Agilisaurus
and Huayangosaurus,
all dinosaurs known from the same
fossil formation as Abrosaurus. Numerous
predatory dinosaurs are also
known from the Lower Shaximiao Formation, but one in particular is
Yangchuanosaurus,
a particularly large theropod dinosaur that may
have been able to tackle an Abrosaurus.
Further reading
- [A new sauropod from Dashanpu, Zigong Co., Sichuan Province (Abrosaurus
dongpoensis gen. et sp. nov.)]. - Zigong Dinosaur Museum
Newsletter
2:10-14 - H. Ouyang - 1989.
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