Group:	Dinosauria - Sauropodomorpha
Original Specimen Location:
Specimen Number:
Age:	Late Jurassic
Where Found:	Colorado
Date Found:	1972
Size:	130
Original Material:
Source:	DINOLAB
Type:	skeleton
3d Scan:	no

 

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

Supersaurus is an aptly named sauropod that is among the largest land animals to have ever lived. Head to tail, it could reach an estimated length of 35m and a weight of nearly 40 metric tons. It likely used its enormous size and whip-like tail to fend off any late Jurassic predators tempted by a potential feast. In most other respects, Supersaurus is an extrapolation of the diplocid body plan – a small head at the end of a long neck, counterbalanced by an even longer tail. The body was kept mostly horizontal due to skeletal and muscle limitations, and the long neck was likely adapted for grazing over rough terrain such as swamps or through dense forests.

Type Species: Supersaurus vivianae

Jensen, J.A. (1985). Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. Great Basin Naturalist, Vol. 45, pp. 697-709.

Locality:

Colorado/Wyoming, USA.

Scientific Resources:

Lovelace, DM; Hartman, SA; and Wahl, WR. (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 Vol. 65, No.4, pp. 527–544.

Monastersky, R. (1989). Huge Dinosaur Bones Discovered Hollow. Science News, Vol. 135, No. 17, pp. 261.