Sauropoda in the context of "Dinosaur National Monument"

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⭐ Core Definition: Sauropoda

Sauropoda (/sɔːˈrɒpədə/), whose members are called sauropods (/ˈsɔːrəpɒdz/; from sauro- + -pod; lit.'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their body), and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Well-known genera include Alamosaurus, Apatosaurus, Argentinosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Brontosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, Dreadnoughtus, and Mamenchisaurus.

The oldest known unequivocal sauropod dinosaurs are known from the Early Jurassic. Isanosaurus and Antetonitrus were originally described as Triassic sauropods, but their age, and in the case of Antetonitrus also its sauropod status, were subsequently questioned. Sauropod-like sauropodomorph tracks from the Fleming Fjord Formation (Greenland) might, however, indicate the occurrence of the group in the Late Triassic. By the Late Jurassic (150 million years ago), sauropods had become widespread (especially the diplodocids and brachiosaurids). By the Late Cretaceous, one group of sauropods, the titanosaurs, had replaced all others and had a near-global distribution. However, as with all other non-avian dinosaurs alive at the time, the titanosaurs died out in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Fossilised remains of sauropods have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.

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👉 Sauropoda in the context of Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument is an American national monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green and Yampa rivers. Although most of the monument area is in Moffat County, Colorado, the Dinosaur Quarry is located in Utah, north of the town of Jensen, Utah. The nearest Colorado town is Dinosaur while the nearest city is Vernal, Utah.

Originally preserved in 1915 to protect its famous Dinosaur Quarry, the monument was greatly expanded in 1938 to include its wealth of natural history. The park's wild landscapes, topography, geology, paleontology, and history make it a unique resource for both science and recreation. The park contains over 800 paleontological sites and has fossils of dinosaurs including Allosaurus, Deinonychus, Abydosaurus, and various sauropods. The Abydosaurus consists of a nearly complete skull, the lower jaw, and first four neck vertebrae. The specimen was found at the base of the Mussentuchit Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation and is the holotype for the species.

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In this Dossier

Sauropoda in the context of Barosaurus

Barosaurus (/ˌbærˈsɔːrəs/ BARR-oh-SOR-əs) is a genus of giant, long-tailed, long-necked, plant-eating sauropod dinosaur closely related to the more familiar Diplodocus. Remains have been found in the Morrison Formation from the Upper Jurassic Period of Colorado, Utah, South Dakota, and eastern Wyoming at Como Bluff. It is present in stratigraphic zones 2–5. The composite term Barosaurus comes from the Greek words barys (βαρυς) meaning "heavy" and sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard", thus "heavy lizard".

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Sauropoda in the context of Camarasaurus

Camarasaurus (/ˌkæmərəˈsɔːrəs/ KAM-ər-ə-SOR-əs) is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic epoch. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages of the Jurassic, between 155 and 145 million years ago (mya).

Camarasaurus presented a distinctive cranial profile of a blunt snout and an arched skull that was remarkably square, typical of basal macronarians. The generic name means "chambered lizard", referring to the hollow chambers, known as pleurocoels, in its cervical vertebrae (Greek καμαρα [kamara] meaning 'vaulted chamber', or anything with an arched cover, and σαυρος [sauros] meaning 'lizard').

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Sauropoda in the context of Sauropodomorpha

Sauropodomorpha (/ˌsɔːrəˌpɒdəˈmɔːrfə/ SOR-ə-POD-ə-MOR-fə; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of saurischian dinosaurs that includes the long-necked, herbivorous sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Early, more basal sauropodomorphs (traditionally termed prosauropods) were bipedal, and the earliest show evidence of omnivorous or carnivorous diets. Over time, sauropodomorph evolution resulted in a shift to herbivorous diets, larger body sizes, and quadrupedal locomotion. The sauropods themselves generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The sauropods were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic (approximately 230 Ma) until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.

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Sauropoda in the context of Abydosaurus

Abydosaurus (meaning "Abydos lizard") is a genus of brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur known from skull and postcranial material found in upper Lower Cretaceous rocks of northeastern Utah, United States.

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Sauropoda in the context of Dreadnoughtus

Dreadnoughtus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur containing a single species, Dreadnoughtus schrani. It is known from two partial skeletons discovered in Upper Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian, approximately 76–70 million years ago) rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is one of the largest terrestrial vertebrates known, with the immature type specimen measuring 26 metres (85 ft) in total body length and weighing 48–49 metric tons (53–54 short tons) (the greatest mass of any land animal that can be calculated with reasonable certainty).

Dreadnoughtus is known from more complete skeletons than any other gigantic titanosaurian. Drexel University paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara, who discovered the genus, chose the name Dreadnoughtus, which means "fears nothing", stating "I think it's time the herbivores get their due for being the toughest creatures in an environment." Specifically, the name was inspired by the dreadnought, an extremely influential early 20th-century battleship type, known for revolutionarily outclassing (and thus supposedly never needing to fear) the smaller, weaker battleships that came before.

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Sauropoda in the context of Brachiosaurid

The Brachiosauridae ("arm lizards", from Greek brachion (βραχίων) = "arm" and sauros = "lizard") are a family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the leaves of tall trees that other sauropods would have been unable to reach. In addition, they possessed thick spoon-shaped teeth which helped them to consume tough plants more efficiently than other sauropods. They have also been characterized by a few unique traits or synapomorphies; dorsal vertebrae with 'rod-like' transverse processes and an ischium with an abbreviated pubic peduncle.

Brachiosaurus is one of the best-known members of the Brachiosauridae, and was once thought to be the largest land animal to ever live. Brachiosaurids thrived in the regions which are now North and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. They first appear in the fossil record in the Late Jurassic period (possibly even earlier in the Middle Jurassic) and disappear in the late Early Cretaceous period. The broad distribution of Brachiosauridae in both northern and southern continents suggests that the group originated prior to the breakup of Pangaea. In the Early Cretaceous the distribution of the group is dramatically reduced. It is still unclear whether this reduction is due to local extinctions or to the limited nature of the Early Cretaceous fossil record.

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Sauropoda in the context of Titanosaur

Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from every continent. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as Patagotitan, estimated at 37 m (121 ft) long with a mass of 69 tonnes (76 tons), and the comparably-sized Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus from the same region.

The group's name alludes to the mythological Titans of ancient Greek mythology, via the type genus (now considered a nomen dubium) Titanosaurus. Together with the brachiosaurids and relatives, titanosaurs make up the larger sauropod clade Titanosauriformes. Titanosaurs have long been a poorly-known group, and the relationships between titanosaur species are still not well-understood.

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