Supersaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Supersaurus was a sauropod dinosaur, a relative of Diplodocus. It was found in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado in 1972.[1]
| Supersaurus Temporal range: Upper Jurassic 153 mya
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| Genus: | Supersaurus
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| Supersaurus vivianae | |
In most respects, Supersaurus is similar in to Apatosaurus, but it is less robustly built. It has elongated cervical vertebrae, resulting in one of the longest known sauropod necks.[2] It was up to 33 to 34 meters (108 to 112 ft) in length, and a weight of 35 to 40 tons.[3]
A new and much more complete specimen of Supersaurus, nicknamed 'Jimbo', WDC DMJ-021, was found in Converse County, Wyoming in 1996. It is currently being prepared and was described in 2007. Its bones are held at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center.
References
change- ↑ Foster J. 2007. Appendix, in Jurassic West: the dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and their world. Indiana University Press, 327-329.
- ↑ Amphicoelias was longer.
- ↑ Lovelace, David M; Hartman, Scott A. & Wahl, William R. 2007. 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.