Supersaurus Fossil range: Late Jurassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Sauropodomorpha Infraorder: Sauropoda Family: Diplodocidae Genus: Supersaurus Jensen, 1985
Species
S. vivianae Jensen, 1985 (type)
Synonyms
Dystylosaurus Jensen, 1985 Ultrasauros Olshevsky, 1991

Supersaurus (meaning "super lizard") was a diplodocid dinosaur discovered in a rock formation in the U.S. state of Colorado in 1972, alongside bones of a Brachiosaurus.

Supersaurus yielded only a few bones; the shoulder girdle (type specimen BYU 5500) and a few neck vertebrae. The shoulder girdle (scapulocoracoid) stood some eight feet (2.4 m) tall, if placed on end. Supersaurus may have been up to 40 meters (130 feet) long, making it the one of the largest members of the diplodocid family.

At the time, the combination of bones found was thought to belong to a single dinosaur, named "Ultrasaurus" macintoshi (later renamed Ultrasauros). The type specimen (the specimen used to define a new species) of Ultrasauros, being a backbone (dorsal vertebra, labeled BYU 9044), actually belongs to a Supersaurus. In fact, it probably belongs to the original Supersaurus, which was discovered in the same quarry in 1972. Since Supersaurus was named slightly earlier, the name Ultrasauros has been discarded in favor of Supersaurus. Dr. Jim Jensen named both animals in 1985. The name Ultrasauros thus became a junior synonym for Supersaurus.

Other bones found at the same location and originally considered Ultrasauros, like a shoulder girdle (scapulocoracoid, BYU 9462), belong to Brachiosaurus, possibly a large specimen of Brachiosaurus altithorax (Curtice, 1996).

Another diplodocid dinosaur of which a backbone (dorsal vertebra type specimen BYU 5750) was found nearby and which was named Dystylosaurus is now also considered to be a specimen of Supersaurus. Hence, Dystylosaurus has also become a junior synonym of Supersaurus.

A new and much more complete specimen of Supersaurus, nick-named 'Jimbo', has been found in Converse County, Wyoming. It is currently being excavated and its bones are being held at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center.^{[[#wp-_note-Supersaurus at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center|[1]]]}

Originally it was thought that Supersaurus was related to the long-necked diplodocid Barosaurus, but the new specimen makes it clear that Supersaurus is actually more closely related to Apatosaurus.

References

• "Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado", by James A. Jensen (1985). Great Basin Naturalist, issue 45, pages 697 to 709.

• "A re-assessment of Ultrasauros macintoshi (Jensen, 1985)", by Brian Curtice, Ken Stadtman, and Linda Curtice (1996). The Continental Jurassic: Transactions of the Continental Jurassic Symposium, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin number 60, pages 87 to 95, edited by M. Morales.

1. [Supersaurus at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center_0|^] Supersaurus at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center

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