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Supersaurus
''Supersaurus'' (meaning "super lizard") is a genus of diplodocid Sauropoda, sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. The type species, ''S. vivianae'', was first discovered by Vivian Jones of Delta, Colorado, in the middle Morrison Formation of Colorado in 1972. The fossil remains came from the Brushy Basin Member of the formation, dating between 153 to 145 million years ago. It was a very large sauropod, reaching in length and approximately in body mass. A potential second species, ''S. lourinhanensis'', (''Dinheirosaurus'') is known from Portugal and has been dated to a similar time. Discovery ''Supersaurus'' is present in stratigraphic zone 5 of the Morrison, dating from the Tithonian. The original fossil remains of ''Supersaurus'' were discovered in the Dry Mesa Quarry in 1972. This find yielded only a few bones: mainly the shoulder girdle, an ischium and tail vertebrae. Paleontologist James A. Jensen described ''Supersaurus''; he de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diplodocid
Diplodocids, or members of the family Diplodocidae ("double beams"), are a group of sauropod dinosaurs. The family includes some of the longest creatures ever to walk the Earth, including ''Diplodocus'' and ''Supersaurus'', some of which may have reached lengths of up to . Description Diplodocids were generally large animals, even by sauropod standards. Thanks to their long necks and tails, diplodocids were among the longest sauropods, with some species such as ''Supersaurus vivianae'' and ''Diplodocus hallorum'' estimated to have reached lengths of or more. The heaviest diplodocids, such as ''Supersaurus'' and ''Apatosaurus'', may have weighed close to 40 tonnes. However, not all diplodocids were so large; the South American species ''Leinkupal laticauda'' was one of the smallest diplodocids, with an estimated length of only . Their heads, like those of other sauropods, were tiny with the nasal openings on the top of the head (though in life the nostrils themselves would have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barosaurus
''Barosaurus'' ( ) was a 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 Utah and South Dakota. It is present in stratigraphic zones 2–5.Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. pp. 327-329. The composite term ''Barosaurus'' comes from the Greek words ''barys'' (βαρυς) meaning "heavy" and ''sauros'' (σαυρος) meaning "lizard"; thus "heavy lizard". Description ''Barosaurus'' was an enormous animal, with some adults measuring about in length and weighing about 12–20 metric tons (13–22 short tons).Paul, G.S., 2016, ''The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs 2nd edition'', Princeton University Press p. 213 There are some indications of even larger individuals, such as the enormous cervical vertebra from the BYU 902 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinheirosaurus
''Dinheirosaurus'' is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that is known from fossils uncovered in modern-day Portugal. It may represent a species of ''Supersaurus''. The only species is ''Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis'', first described by José Bonaparte and Octávio Mateus in 1999 for vertebrae and some other material from the Lourinhã Formation. Although the precise age of the formation is not known, it can be dated around the early Tithonian of the Late Jurassic. The known material includes two cervical vertebrae, nine dorsal vertebrae, a few ribs, a fragment of a pubis, and many gastroliths. Of the material, only the vertebrae are diagnostic, with the ribs and pubis being too fragmentary or general to distinguish ''Dinheirosaurus''. This material was first described as in the genus ''Lourinhasaurus'', but differences were noticed and in 1999 Bonaparte and Mateus redescribed the material under the new binomial ''Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis''. Another specimen, ML 418, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dry Mesa Quarry
The Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry is situated in southwestern Colorado, United States, near the town of Delta. Its geology forms a part of the Morrison Formation and has famously yielded a great diversity of animal remains from the Jurassic Period, among them ''Ceratosaurus'', '' Supersaurus'', and ''Torvosaurus''. The quarry is found within the Uncompahgre National Forest. History In 1971, a large theropod phalanx (''Torvosaurus'' ''tanneri'') was discovered at Dry Mesa by Ed and Vivian Jones of Delta, Colorado. The find was reported to James A. Jensen of Brigham Young University (BYU) who commenced quarrying operations in 1972. In 1973, Brigham Young University cooperated with producer Steve Linton and director John Linton in order to produce '' The Great Dinosaur Discovery'', a 1-hour-long color documentary showing Jensen's on-site finds in Dry Mesa. First released on November 13, 1973, in local "Egyptian Theater" in Delta, and subsequently aired on several USA TV channels, ''The G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya; their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds. Dinosaurs are varied from taxonomic, morphological and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,700 living species, are among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is located in Thermopolis, Wyoming and is one of the few dinosaur museums in the world to have excavation sites within driving distance. The museum displays the Thermopolis Specimen of ''Archaeopteryx'', which is the only real specimen of this genus on display outside of Europe. Fifteen minutes from the museum are their many dig sites. Located on the Warm Springs Ranch, more than 10,000 bones have been discovered and excavated, most of which are either on display or stored just down the hill at the museum. One of the most notable fossil assemblies on the property is from the "Something Interesting" or SI excavation site. This site presents the rare occurrence of both dinosaur trace fossils and body fossils including footprints of many Sauropods and ''Allosaurus'' as well as skeletal remains from '' Camarasaurus, Diplodocus,'' and ''Apatosaurus'' - three of the sauropods most common in the area during the Late Jurassic. Most of the bones belong to a juven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropoda
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from '' sauro-'' + '' -pod'', '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 ''Brachiosaurus'', ''Diplodocus'', ''Apatosaurus'' and ''Brontosaurus''. 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 yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultrasaurus
''Ultrasaurus'' (meaning "wikt:ultra, ultra lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur discovered by Haang Mook Kim in South Korea. However, the name was first used unofficially (as a ''nomen nudum'') in 1979 by Jim Jensen to describe a set of giant dinosaur bones he discovered in the United States. Because Kim published the name for his specimen before Jensen could do so officially, Jensen renamed his specimen ''Ultrasauros''. Jensen's giant sauropod was later found to be a chimera (paleontology), chimera, and the Type (biology), type remains are now assigned to ''Supersaurus''. Mistaken assessments A collection of bones discovered by James A. Jensen, Jim Jensen, of Brigham Young University, at the Dry Mesa Quarry, Colorado were originally believed to belong to the largest dinosaur ever. Jensen informally called this supposedly new dinosaur "Ultrasaurus", and this name was widely used by the press and in scientific literature as a ''nomen nudum'' (informal name lacking an actual s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic, Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and limestone and is light gray, greenish gray, or red. Most of the fossils occur in the green siltstone beds and lower sandstones, relics of the rivers and floodplains of the Jurassic period. It is centered in Wyoming and Colorado, with outcrops in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho. Equivalent rocks under different names are found in Canada. It covers an area of 1.5 million square kilometers (600,000 square miles), although only a tiny fraction is exposed and accessible to geologists and Paleontology, paleontologists. Over 75% is still buried under the prairie to the east, and much of its western paleogeographic extent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age. In the past, ''Malm'' was also used to indicate the unit of geological time, but this usage is now discouraged to make a clear distinction between lithostratigraphic and geochronologic/chronostratigraphic units. Subdivisions The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three (faunal) stages of Upper Jurassic rock: Paleogeography During the Late Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. The result of this break-up was the spawning of the Atlantic Ocean. However, at this time, the Atlantic Ocean was relatively narrow. Life forms of the epoch This epoch is well known for many famous types of dinosau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the south. With a population of 576,851 in the 2020 United States census, Wyoming is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, least populous state despite being the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 10th largest by area, with the List of U.S. states by population density, second-lowest population density after Alaska. The state capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city is Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, which had an estimated population of 63,957 in 2018. Wyoming's western half is covered mostly by the ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the eastern half of the state is high-elevation prairie called the High Plains (United States), High Plains. It is drier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Converse County
Converse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 13,751. Its county seat is Douglas. History Converse County was created in 1888 by the legislature of the Wyoming Territory, of area annexed from Albany and Laramie counties. Converse County was named for A.R. Converse, a banker and rancher from Cheyenne, Wyoming, who was co-owner with Francis E. Warren in a large ranch in the eastern part of Converse County. A portion of Converse County territory was annexed for the formation of Niobrara County in 1911. Converse County was slightly enlarged with territory from Albany County in 1955 after a special election. An elected commission governs each Wyoming county. Commissioner David R. Edwards resigned in January 2012 after three years of service because of health problems. He was a Republican who had served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2001 to 2008. Geography According to the US Census Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
