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 bo ...
is a
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
of
dinosaurs
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 t ...
that consists of roughly 300 species of large, long-necked herbivores and includes the largest terrestrial animals ever to exist. The first sauropod species were named in 1842 by
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils.
Owe ...
, though at the time, he regarded them as unusual crocodilians. Sauropoda was named in 1878 by
Othniel Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one of the preeminent scientists in the field of paleontology. Among h ...
.
Scope
For historical value, this list includes every sauropod species that has ever been formally named, regardless of whether the species is currently considered to be valid. Invalid species (i.e., species that are regarded as
dubious
Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them.
Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty, ...
or as a
junior synonym
The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently.
* In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...
of another species) are given a darker gray background.
The precise definition of Sauropoda is disputed. One proposed dividing line is to consider as sauropods all species more closely related to derived sauropods than ''
Melanorosaurus
''Melanorosaurus'' (meaning "Black Mountain Lizard", from the Greek ''melas/'', "black", ''oros/'', "mountain" + ''/'', "lizard") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period. A herbivore from South Af ...
'', one of the most sauropod-like taxa historically classified as a "
prosauropod
Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had lon ...
". The other is to exclude from Sauropoda any species more distantly related to derived sauropods than ''
Vulcanodon
''Vulcanodon'' (meaning "volcano tooth") is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. The only known species is ''V. karibaensis''. Discovered in 1969 in Zimbabwe, it was regarded as the earliest-known sau ...
'', one of the earliest and most basal taxa historically accepted as a sauropod. This leaves an interval of species more closely related to derived sauropods than ''Melanorosaurus'' but not so closely as ''Vulcanodon'' that are sauropods under one definition but not the other. Many characteristics of sauropods, such as opisthocoelous cervical vertebrae and columnar limbs, evolved within this transitional region, so that species within it may exhibit a combination of characteristics regarded as sauropod-like or non-sauropod-like.
For the purposes of this list, species whose phylogenetic position may fall within the interval between ''Melanorosaurus'' and ''Vulcanodon'', or whose status as a sauropod is otherwise regarded as uncertain, are listed separately from unambiguous sauropods.
The third section of this list covers species that were once classified as sauropods, but have been reidentified as belonging to other groups.
The fourth section of this list covers informally named sauropod species.
Unambiguous sauropods
The following is a list of every species of sauropod that has ever been formally named, regardless of whether it is currently considered valid, dubious, or synonymous with another species. Invalid species are given a darker gray background. It does not contain species that have been recovered as basal to ''Vulcanodon'' by phylogenetic analysis, which are covered in a separate list below. The list contains the following information:
* Scientific name: The
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
of the species, accompanied by a
citation
A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...
to the work in which the species was formally named.
* Status: The taxonomic status of the species, listing whether the species is currently regarded as valid, a ''
nomen dubium
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...
'', or as
synonymous
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
with another species.
* Authors: The list of people credited with naming the species.
* Date named: The date on which the species name is formally regarded as having first been published. According to the
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...
, only print publications and online works registered in
ZooBank
ZooBank is an open access website intended to be the official International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) registry of zoological nomenclature. Any nomenclatural acts (e.g. publications that create or change a taxonomic name) need t ...
are considered to have been formally published, so the date given is the date recorded by ZooBank or the date of print publication, if different from the date of online publication.
* Parent clade: The most specific clade that the species is uncontroversially regarded as belonging to. When sorted, this column will place the clades in phylogenetic order, not alphabetical.
* Age: The geological age of the species in millions of years ago. Ranges generally indicate uncertainty, not the known duration of the species, so the range of ages listed does not imply that the species existed for the entire duration of that range. When a numerical age range is not directly available, it is converted from the date range of the reported chronostratigraphic units.
* Location: A list of countries where fossils of the species have been found. In the case of invalid species, only where the type specimen was found.
* Notes: Miscellaneous notes, including what the species was originally called, if its genus assignment has been changed.
* Skeletal diagram: A diagram showing a hypothetical silhouette of the animal, which bones are known of the species, and a size comparison if possible. For valid species, this may be a composite of multiple specimens, but for invalid species, this shows only the type specimen of the species.
Sauropodomorphs of uncertain affinity
This section of the list contains sauropodomorphs that are more closely related to eusauropods than ''Melanorosaurus'' but not as closely as ''Vulcanodon'', thus lying between the two proposed boundaries of Sauropoda, as well as sauropodomorphs of unspecified phylogenetic position whose status as sauropods is disputed.
Non-sauropodomorphs misidentified as sauropods
This section of the list covers taxa that were at one point referred to Sauropoda, its historical synonyms Cetiosauria or Opisthocoelia, or referred to a taxon that is now regarded as a sauropod, such as the genus ''Cetiosaurus''. However, it excludes sauropodomorphs that were referred to Sauropoda as a result of debate over where the boundary between sauropods and non-sauropod sauropodomorphs lie.
Informally named sauropods
This section of the list contains sauropods that have never been formally scientifically named, but have been referred to with an informal binomial name.
Footnotes
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
{{refend
External links
Dinosaur Genera ListThe Compact ThescelosaurusThe Theropod Database
Sauropods