Camarasaurus
Camarasaurid sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic Period / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Camarasaurus (/ˌkæmərəˈsɔːrəs/ KAM-ər-ə-SOR-əs) was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian stages), between 155 and 145 million years ago.
Camarasaurus | |
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Mounted skeletal cast at the Jurassic Museum of Asturias | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Sauropoda |
Clade: | †Macronaria |
Family: | †Camarasauridae |
Subfamily: | †Camarasaurinae Cope, 1878 |
Genus: | †Camarasaurus Cope, 1877a |
Type species | |
†Camarasaurus supremus Cope, 1877a | |
Other species | |
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Synonyms | |
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Camarasaurus presented a distinctive cranial profile of a blunt snout and an arched skull that was remarkably square, typical of basal Macronarians.
The 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").
Camarasaurus contains four species that are commonly recognized as valid: Camarasaurus grandis, Camarasaurus lentus, Camarasaurus lewisi, and Camarasaurus supremus. C. supremus, the type species, is the largest and geologically youngest of the four. Camarasaurus is the type genus of Camarasauridae, which also includes its European close relative Lourinhasaurus.
Camarasaurus was named in 1877 by Edward Drinker Cope, during the period of scientific rivalry between him and Othniel Charles Marsh known as the Bone Wars. Soon after, Marsh named a genus Morosaurus, but it was subsequently shown to be synonymous with Camarasaurus.