Supersaurus was an extinct genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the late Jurassic. They were one of the largest dinosaurs ever, though, apart from that, they looked like most other diplodocids.
Description[]
Based on fossil evidence that's been found, its believed that this sauropod measured about 33 to 34 meters (108 ft) in length and weighed 35-40 tons, and some researchers raise this number to 42 meters (137 ft), which would make it one of the longest of all known sauropods. The Supersaurus was a typical diplodocid, with a small skull, solid legs and a long neck and tail.[1]
History[]
The first Supersaurus fossil was found in western Colorado, by paleontologist James A. Jensen in 1972, and was named in 1985. It is only known from an incomplete fossil which includes two shoulder blades 8 feet long, ribs 10 feet long, neck vertebrae 4.5 feet long, and a pelvis 6 feet wide.
Classification[]
Supersaurus was first assigned to Diplodocidae, but was later specified to Apatosaurinae, as Supersaurus is thought to be more closely related to Apatosaurus than Diplodocus.
The position in the tree:
Diplodocidae |
|
Supersaurus in The Land Before Time[]
Supersaurus (like all sauropods in the series) are known to the denizens of the Land Before Time world as Longnecks. The genus only appears in The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration, and, even then, only one Supersaurus representative (possibly two, though the other, Sue's unnamed boyfriend, is probably designed after the chimeric "Ultrasauros") is seen - Sue.
References[]
- ↑ Lovelace, David M.; Hartman, Scott A.; and 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): pp. 527–544.
External links[]
- "Whatever happened to 'Ultrasauros?, by Brian Curtice.
- "Why do mass estimates vary so much?", by Mike Taylor, 27 August 2002. (see footnote)