| Supersaurus Fossil range: Late Jurassic |
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Supersaurus (meaning "super lizard") is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur discovered in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado in 1972. In biology a type is that which fixes a name to a Taxon. Depending on the nomenclature code which is applied to the organism in question a type may be a specimen In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. George Olshevsky (born 1946 is a freelance editor, Writer, Publisher, Paleontologist, and Mathematician living in San Diego A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Diplodocids, or members of the family Diplodocidae ("double beams" are a group of Sauropod Dinosaurs The family includes some of the longest Sauropoda (sɔˈrɒpədə or the sauropods (/ˈsɔroʊpɒd/ are a suborder or infraorder of the Saurischian ("lizard-hipped" The Late Jurassic (or Malm) Epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time from 161 The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic Sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States which has been the most fertile source The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It is among the largest dinosaurs known from good remains, possibly reaching 33 to 34 meters (108 to 112 ft) in length, and a weight of 35 to 40 tons. Size has been one of the most interesting aspects of Dinosaur science to the general public The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit [1]
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History
The original fossil remains of Supersaurus yielded only a few bones: the shoulder girdle (type specimen BYU 5500) and a few neck vertebrae. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. A holotype is one of several possible Biological types A type is what fixes a name to a Taxon. This shoulder girdle (or scapulocoracoid) stood some 2. In Anatomy, the scapula, omo, or shoulder blade, is the Bone that connects the Humerus (arm bone with the Clavicle (collar 4 meters (8 ft) tall, if placed on end.
A new and much more complete specimen of Supersaurus, nicknamed 'Jimbo', has been found in Converse County, Wyoming. It is currently being excavated and its bones are being held at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Originally, it was thought that Supersaurus was related to the long-necked diplodocid Barosaurus (a member of the subfamily Diplodocinae), but the new specimen makes it clear that Supersaurus is actually more closely related to Apatosaurus (a member of the subfamily Apatosaurinae). Barosaurus (ˌbæroʊˈsɔrəs BARR-oh-SAWR-us meaning 'heavy Lizard ' ( Greek barys/βαρυς meaning 'heavy' and [1]
Ultrasauros
Paleontologist James A. Jensen, who described the original Supersaurus specimen, simultaneously reported the discovery of another gigantic sauropod, which would later be named "Ultrasaurus" macintoshi[2] (later re-named Ultrasauros macintoshi). This article is the restored version of the one deleted from Wikipedia in 2007 The type specimen (the specimen used to define a new species) of Ultrasauros, being a backbone (dorsal vertebra, labeled BYU 9044), was later found to have come from Supersaurus. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. A vertebra (plural vertebrae) is an individual Irregular bone in the spinal or Vertebral column ( aka ischis a flexuous and flexible column In fact, it probably belonged to the original Supersaurus specimen, which was discovered in the same quarry in 1972. Therefore, Ultrasauros became a junior objective synonym of Supersaurus, which had been named first and thus retains priority, and the name Ultrasauros was abandoned. In Scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different Scientific names used for a single Taxon. [3]
Other bones that were found at the same location and originally thought to belong to Ultrasauros, like a shoulder girdle (scapulocoracoid, BYU 9462), actually belonged to Brachiosaurus, possibly a large specimen of Brachiosaurus altithorax. In Anatomy, the scapula, omo, or shoulder blade, is the Bone that connects the Humerus (arm bone with the Clavicle (collar Brachiosaurus (ˌbrækiəˈsɔrəs meaning "arm lizard" from the Greek brachion /βραχιων meaning "arm" and sauros [3] The Brachiosaurus bones indicate a large, but not record-breaking individual, a little larger than the Brachiosaurus brancai in the Humboldt Museum of Berlin. The Museum für Naturkunde (in English, the Museum of Natural History) widely known as the Naturkundemuseum, occasionally as the Humboldt Museum Larger specimens of Brachiosaurus are known from the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, in east Africa. Tanzania ˌtænzəˈniːə officially the United Republic of Tanzania (Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya East Africa is the Easternmost Region of the African Continent.
Originally, these Supersaurus and Brachiosaurus bones were believed to represent a single dinosaur that was estimated to reach about 25 to 30 meters (80 to 100 ft) long, 8 meters (25 ft) high at the shoulder, 15 meters (50 ft) in total height, and weighing maybe 70 metric tonnes (75 short tons). This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. The short ton ( S/T) is a unit of mass equal to 2000 lb (around 907 At the time, mass estimates ranged up to 180 tons, which placed it in the same category as the blue whale and the equally problematic Bruhathkayosaurus. The Blue Whale ( Balaenoptera musculus) is a Marine mammal belonging to the suborder of Baleen whales (called Mysticeti Bruhathkayosaurus (bruːˌhæθkeɪoʊˈsɔrəs meaning 'huge bodied lizard' might have been the largest Dinosaur that ever lived
Naming of Ultrasauros
The naming of the chimeric Ultrasauros has a similarly complicated history. Ultrasaurus was the original choice, and was widely used by the media after the discovery in 1979. However, the name of a new species must be published in a scientific journal to become official. In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank.
Before Jim Jensen published his discovery in 1985, another paleontologist, Haang Mook Kim, used the name Ultrasaurus in a 1983 publication to describe what he believed was a giant dinosaur in South Korea. This article is about Ultrasaur' u' s a dubious dinosaur from South Korea. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː This was a different, much smaller dinosaur than Jensen's find, but Kim thought it represented a similarly gigantic animal because he confused a femur (leg bone) for a humerus (arm bone). The femur is the thigh bone In Humans, it is the longest, most voluminous and strongest Bone. The humerus is a Long bone in the Arm or Forelimb that runs from the Shoulder to the Elbow. While the logic of naming was incorrect, the Ultrasaurus from Kim's find fulfilled the requirements for naming and became regarded as a legitimate, if dubious genus. Thus, because Jensen did not publish his own "Ultrasaurus" find until 1985, Kim's use retained its official priority of name, and Jensen was forced to choose a new name (in technical terms, his original choice was "preoccupied" by Kim's sauropod). In 1991, at his suggestion, George Olshevsky changed one letter, and renamed Jensen's sauropod Ultrasauros. George Olshevsky (born 1946 is a freelance editor, Writer, Publisher, Paleontologist, and Mathematician living in San Diego
When it was later discovered that the new name referred to bones from two separate, and already known species, the name Ultrasauros became a junior synonym for Supersaurus. Since the bones from the Brachiosaurus were only used as a secondary reference for the new species, Ultrasauros is not a junior synonym for Brachiosaurus. Since Supersaurus was named slightly earlier, the name Ultrasauros has been discarded in favor of Supersaurus.
Additional synonyms
Another diplodocid dinosaur found near the original Supersaurus quarry, known from a backbone (dorsal vertebra type specimen BYU 5750), was named Dystylosaurus edwini and is now also considered to be a specimen of Supersaurus vivianae. Diplodocids, or members of the family Diplodocidae ("double beams" are a group of Sauropod Dinosaurs The family includes some of the longest A vertebra (plural vertebrae) is an individual Irregular bone in the spinal or Vertebral column ( aka ischis a flexuous and flexible column Hence, Dystylosaurus has also become a junior synonym of Supersaurus. [4]
References
- ^ a b 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): 527–544.
- ^ Jensen, J. A. (1985). "Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. " Great Basin Naturalist, 45: 697-709.
- ^ a b Curtice, B. , Stadtman, K. , and Curtice, L. (1996) "A re-assessment of Ultrasauros macintoshi (Jensen, 1985). " Pp. 87-95 in M. Morales (ed. ), The Continental Jurassic: Transactions of the Continental Jurassic Symposium, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin number 60.
- ^ Curtice, B. ; and Stadtman, K. (2001). "The demise of Dystylosaurus edwini and a revision of Supersaurus vivianae", in McCord, R. D. ; and Boaz, D. (eds. ): Western Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists and Southwest Paleontological Symposium - Proceedings 2001, Mesa Southwest Museum Bulletin 8, 33-40.
External links
- "Whatever happened to 'Ultrasauros?, by Brian Curtice.
- "Why do mass estimates vary so much?", by Mike Taylor, 27 August 2002. (see footnote)
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