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Callawayasaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Callawayasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the family Elasmosauridae. When the holotype was first described by Samuel Paul Welles in 1962,[1] it was described as Alzadasaurus colombiensis before being moved into its current genus by Kenneth Carpenter in 1999.[2]
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History
Callawayasaurus is named in honor of the paleontologist Jack M. Callaway, editor of Ancient Marine Reptiles who, as Carpenter put it, "in his brief career as a vertebrate paleontologist, did much to improve our understanding of marine reptiles."[2] The familiar suffix, -saurus comes from the Greek sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard" or "reptile".[3]
Description
Callawayasaurus was a large plesiosaur, with a skull length of 35 centimetres (1 ft 2 in) and body length of 7.4–8 metres (24–26 ft).[4][5] The nares of Callawayasaurus are elongated and positioned over the maxilla, which has 3-5 teeth.[3] The neck contains 56 vertebrae which are relatively short compared to other elasmosaurids.[3] Callawayasaurus fossils have no pectoral bars; in common with other plesiosaurs such as Terminonatator. They also lack postaxial accessory facets.[6]
Another nearly complete skeleton was found to be slightly more robust than the holotype specimen. This subtle change may indicate sexual dimorphism.[3]
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Paleoenvironment
The first Callawayasaurus remains were found in the Paja Formation near Leiva, Boyaca Colombia.[3] The specific name for the type, "columbiensis", means "from Colombia".[3] Callawayasaurus are known from the Aptian faunal stage of the early Cretaceous period, which extended from 125 to 112 million years ago.[7]
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References
External links
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