Genus
Valid Extinct

Barosaurus

Marsh 1890
Etymology Reptile lourd

Barosaurus is an extinct genus of giant, long-tailed, long-necked, plant-eating sauropod dinosaur closely related to the more familiar Diplodocus. Definitive remains have been found in the Morrison Formation from the Upper Jurassic Period of South Dakota, Utah and Montana, with other possible remains also found in Colorado, eastern Wyoming and Oklahoma. The generic name, Barosaurus, comes from the Greek words barys (βαρυς) meaning "heavy" and sauros (σαυρος) meaning "lizard", and thus meaning "heavy lizard".

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
19
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Barosaurus
click to enlarge
The official postcard (of the American Museum of Natural History) says this is a Barosaurus, and that "this unique freestanding mount is the only Barosaurus on view in the world". This was true until the installation of another Barosaurus specimen at the Royal Ontario Museum. The adult specimen pictured is AMNH 6341, classified as Barosaurus lentus. The juvenile specimen (AMNH 7530), originally classified as a juvenile Barosaurus, has since been reclassified as a specimen of Kaatedocus siberi. © Greg from New York, NY, America · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Saurischia Unranked clade
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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
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Massopoda Unranked clade
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Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
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Sauropoda Unranked clade
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Gravisauria Unranked clade
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Eusauropoda Unranked clade
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Neosauropoda Unranked clade
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Diplodocoidea Unranked clade
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Diplodocimorpha Unranked clade
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Flagellicaudata Unranked clade
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Diplodocidae Unranked clade
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Diplodocinae Unranked clade
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Barosaurus Genus
Fossil sites 19 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
18
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
1
Geological formations
Morrison
18
Kadzi
1
Temporal distribution
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
15
Kimmeridgian (154.8–149.2 Ma)
3
Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)
1
Species (2)
Barosaurus gracilis nomen nudum, species not entered Barosaurus
Barosaurus lentus 155 Ma
Synonyms (2)
Barosaurus gracilis nomen nudum, species not entered Barosaurus
Gigantosaurus subjective synonym of Barosaurus
Images 3
Bibliography
Original description
O. C. Marsh. 1890. Description of new dinosaurian reptiles. The American Journal of Science, series 3 39:81-86 DOI ↗
Bibliography (16)
J. R. Foster, J. B. McHugh, and J. E. Peterson, M. F. Leschin. 2016. Major bonebeds in mudrocks of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), northern Colorado Plateau of Utah and Colorado. Geology of the Intermountain West 3:33-66 DOI ↗
E. Tschopp, O. Mateus, and R. B. J. Benson. 2015. A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda). PeerJ 3:e857 DOI ↗
J. Bertog, D. L. Jeffery, and K. Coode, W. B. Hester, R. R. Robinson, J. Bishop. 2014. Taphonomic patterns of a dinosaur accumulation in a lacustrine delta system in the Jurassic Morrison Formation, San Rafael Swell, Utah, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica 17(3):36A:1-19 DOI ↗
M. Hanson and P. J. Makovicky. 2013. A new specimen of Torvoaurus tanneri originally collected by Elmer Riggs. Historical Biology 26(6):775-784 DOI ↗
S. A. Williams, M. F. Bonnan, and S. E. Foss, J. Matthews, J. I. Kirkland. 2011. The Hanksville-Burpee Quarry: cooperative management of an important paleontological bonebed. Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Fossil Resources, Kemmerer, WY. Brigham Young University Geology Studies 49(A):37-38
M. F. Bonnan and M. J. Wedel. 2004. First occurrence of Brachiosaurus (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of Oklahoma. PaleoBios 24(2):13-21
J. R. Foster. 2003. Paleoecological analysis of the vertebrate fauna of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Rocky Mountain region, U.S.A. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 23:1-95
J. H. Ostrom and J. S. McIntosh. 1999. Marsh's Dinosaurs: The Collections from Como Bluff. Yale University Press, New Haven
C. E. Turner and F. Peterson. 1999. Biostratigraphy of dinosaurs in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Western Interior, U.S.A. Vertebrate Paleontology in Utah, Utah Geological Survey Miscellaneous Publication 99-1:77-114
C. A. Bjoraker-Naus. 1997. The Warm Springs Ranch Dinosaur Locality, Thermopolis, Wyoming. Preliminary flora and fauna analysis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17(3):32A
J. R. Foster. 1996. Sauropod dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Black Hills, South Dakota and Wyoming. Contributions to Geology, University of Wyoming 31(1):1-25
J. R. Foster and J. E. Martin. 1994. Late Jurassic dinosaur localities in the Morrison Formation of northeastern Wyoming. Wyoming Geological Association Forty-Fourth Annual Field Conference. Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook 44:115-126
B. Britt. 1991. Theropods of Dry Mesa Quarry (Morrison Formation, Late Jurassic), Colorado, with emphasis on the osteology of Torvosaurus tanneri. BYU Geology Studies 37:1-72
M. A. Raath and J. S. McIntosh. 1987. Sauropod dinosaurs from the central Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, and the age of the Kadzi Formation. South African Journal of Geology 90(2):107-119
B. Brown. 1935. Sinclair Dinosaur Expedition, 1934. Natural History 36:2-15
O. C. Marsh. 1890. Description of new dinosaurian reptiles. The American Journal of Science, series 3 39:81-86 DOI ↗