Genus
Valid Extinct

Supersaurus

Jensen 1985
Etymology Super lézard

Supersaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. The type species, S. vivianae, was first discovered by Vivian Jones of Delta, Colorado, in the middle Morrison Formation of Colorado in 1972. The fossil remains came from the Brushy Basin Member of the formation, dating between 153 and 145 million years ago. It is among the longest dinosaurs ever discovered, with the three known specimens reaching 33–40 meters (108–131 ft) in length, with the largest individual possibly exceeding 40 meters (130 ft) in size. Mass estimates for the WDC and BYU specimens tend to be around 35–44 metric tons in body mass. A potential second species, S. lourinhanensis (Dinheirosaurus), is known from Portugal and has been dated to a similar time.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
5
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Supersaurus
click to enlarge
A cast of BYU 9025, the holotype fossil of the sauropod dinosaur Supersaurus, a giant scapulocoracoid measuring 2.4m long. • The source photo was taken at the Dinosaur Journey Musuem. • Notes regarding the file; This image was edited and extracted from the original seen here. [1] The Photoshop CC lens correction profile and a 'perspective warp' correction were applied. © Mike Taylor · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
Saurischia Unranked clade
Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
Massopoda Unranked clade
Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
Sauropoda Unranked clade
Gravisauria Unranked clade
Eusauropoda Unranked clade
Neosauropoda Unranked clade
Diplodocoidea Unranked clade
Diplodocimorpha Unranked clade
Flagellicaudata Unranked clade
Diplodocidae Unranked clade
Diplodocinae Unranked clade
Supersaurus Genus
Fossil sites 5 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
5
Geological formations
Temporal distribution
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
5
Species (3)
Dystylosaurus edwini subjective synonym of Supersaurus vivianae 155 Ma
Supersaurus vivianae 155 Ma
Ultrasauros macintoshi subjective synonym of Supersaurus vivianae 155 Ma
Synonyms (3)
Dystylosaurus subjective synonym of Supersaurus
Ultrasauros subjective synonym of Supersaurus
Ultrasaurus subjective synonym of Supersaurus
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
J. A. Jensen. 1985. Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. The Great Basin Naturalist 45(4):697-709
Bibliography (3)
D. Lovelace, S. Hartman, and W. R. Wahl. 2005. Revised osteology of Supersaurus vivianae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(3, suppl.):84A-85A
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
J. A. Jensen. 1985. Three new sauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Colorado. The Great Basin Naturalist 45(4):697-709