Barosaurus
Barosaurus was a large, long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur. It lived about 156 to 145 million years ago in the later Jurassic period. The name Barosaurus means "heavy lizard". It was named by Othniel C. Marsh in 1890. Barosaurus fossils have been found in western North America and East Africa.
Barosaurus Temporal range: Upper Jurassic
| |
---|---|
A view from below of the rearing Barosaurus mounted in the American Museum of Natural History, New York | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Class: | |
Superorder: | |
Order: | |
Suborder: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | Barosaurus
|
The skeleton as set up here suggests the animal could strip leaves or fronds from the tallest trees. Indeed, Barosaurus was differently proportioned to its close relative Diplodocus. It had a longer neck and shorter tail, but was about the same length overall. It was longer than Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus, and its skeleton was less robust (slimmer).[1]
Sauropod skulls are rarely preserved, and no Barosaurus skull has yet been found.
Barosaurus Media
Life reconstruction of an individual rearing up to defend itself against a pair of Allosaurus
- Silhouette of man standing and facing forward.svg (CC0).*References* * Barosaurus skeletal diagram by Scott Hartman * McIntosh, John S.
Mounted skeleton casts posed depicting a specimen rearing up to protect its young (now considered a Kaatedocus specimen) from an Allosaurus fragilis, American Museum of Natural History
Mounted skeleton, Royal Ontario Museum
Skull cast, Natural History Museum of Utah
References
- ↑ McIntosh, John S. (2005). "The genus Barosaurus Marsh (Sauropoda, Diplodocidae)". In Tidwell, Virginia; Carpenter, Ken (eds.). Thunder-lizards: the sauropod dinosaurs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 38–77. ISBN 0-253-34542-1.