Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Camarasauridae
Genus: Camarasaurus

Camarasaurus was a late Jurassic sauropod that could reach lengths of up to 18m and weights of up to 18,000 kg, making it a medium sized member of the sub-order. The skull was stout and squarish, and filled with large openings (or fenestrae) that would have decreased its weight. The jaws were lined with strong, spade-like teeth, capable of chewing large amounts of the plant material Camarasaurus needed to eat. Unlike the diplodocids, camarasaurids held their necks vertical, and fed on the higher levels of vegetation. Their cervical vertebrae were uniquely hollowed and structured to support this feeding behaviour.

Type Species: Camarasaurus supremus

Cope, ED. (1877). On the Vertebrata of the Dakota Epoch of Colorado. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 17, No. 100, pp. 233-247.

Cope, ED. (1878). On the Saurians Recently Discovered in the Dakota Beds of Colorado. The American Naturalist, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 71-85.

Locality:

Colorado, USA.

Scientific Resources:

Ikejiri, T; Tidwell, V; and Trexler, DL. (2005). New Adult Specimens of Camarasaurus Lentus Highlight Ontogenetic Variation within the Species. In V Tidwell, and K Carpenter, Thunder-lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs (pp. 154-179). Indiana University Press.

White, TE. (1958). The Braincase of Camarasaurus lentus (Marsh). Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 477-494.