Supersaurus
Name:
Supersaurus
(Super lizard).
Phonetic: Su-per-sore-us.
Named By: J. A. Jenson - 1985.
Synonyms: Dystylosaurus edwini,
Ultrasauros macintoshi , ‘Jensenosaurus’.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropoda, Diplodocidae, Diplodocinae.
Species: S. vivianae (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Estimated between 33-34 meters long.
Known locations: USA, Colorado, Montrose County
- Morrison Formation, Brushy Basin Member. Wyoming, Converse
county - Morrison Formation.
Time period: Tithonian to Kimmeridgian of the
Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Post cranial remains of more
than one individual.
Supersaurus
is a relative of the ever famous Diplodocus
and Apatosaurus
(formerly
known as Brontosaurus), as these three genera
are all described as
diplodocid sauropods.
Diplodocids are members of the Diplodocidae and
are noted for their long necks and tails, the latter of which are
very thin and whip-like. Diplodocids can be further divided into two
groups, diplodocines which are closer to Diplodocus
and are fairly
gracile (lightly built), and apatosaurines that are closer to
Apatosaurus and more robust (heavily built).
Of these,
Supersaurus has usually been perceived to be closer
to Apatosaurus,
though one study (Whitlock, 2011) has proposed that Supersaurus
is more advanced in form than Apatosaurus, and
should therefore be
classed as a diplodocine and closer to Diplodocus.
Supersaurus
was exceptionally large, even for the type of dinosaur that the genus
represents. So far all Supersaurus fossils have
been recovered from
the world famous Morrison Formation of North America, which is a
clear indicator that Supersaurus lived during the
late Jurassic,
which was the high point for sauropod diversity in North America.
Other diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs that Supersaurus
may have
encountered include Kaatedocus,
Eobrontosaurus,
Suuwassea
and
Amphicoelias,
while other sauropod types such as Camarasaurus
and
Brachiosaurus
were also roaming around.
It
is now known that the genera Dystylosaurus and Ultrasauros
(not to be
confused with Ultrasaurus) are actually
synonymous with Supersaurus.
Both of these genera were based upon the description of vertebrae that
were later identified as belonging to Supersaurus.
In fact the
vertebra used to base the description of Ultrasauros
is actually
thought to have come from the same individual Supersaurus
that became
the genus holotype.
Further reading
- Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado.
Great Basin Naturalist, 45: 697-709. - J. A. Jenson -
1985.
- A re-assessment of Ultrasauros macintoshi
(Jensen, 1985).
- Pp. 87-95 in M. Morales (ed.), The Continental
Jurassic: Transactions of the Continental Jurassic Symposium,
Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin number 60. - B. Curtice,
K. Stadtman & L. Curtice - 1996.
- The demise of Dystylosaurus edwini and a
revision of Supersaurus
vivianae. B. Curtice & L. Stadtman. - In
R. D.
McCord & D. Boaz (eds.). Western Association of
Vertebrate Paleontologists and Southwest Paleontological Symposium,
Proceedings 2001. Mesa Southwest Museum Bulletin 8. pp.
33–40.
- Morphology of a specimen of Supersaurus
(Dinosauria,
Sauropoda) from the Morrison Formation of Wyoming, and a
re-evaluation of diplodocid phylogeny. - Arquivos do Museu
Nacional 65 (4): 527–544. - David M. Lovelace, Scott
A. Hartman & William R. Wahl - 2007.
- A phylogenetic analysis of Diplodocoidea (Saurischia:
Sauropoda)." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. - J.
A. Whitlock - 2011.
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