Genus
Valid Extinct

Amphicoelias

Cope 1877

Amphicoelias is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived approximately 150 million years ago during the Tithonian of what is now Colorado, United States. Amphicoelias was moderately sized at about 18 metres (59 ft) in length and 15 metric tons in body mass, shorter than its close relative Diplodocus. Its hindlimbs were very long and thin, and its forelimbs were proportionally longer than in relatives.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
3
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Amphicoelias
click to enlarge
Photograph of a holotype (AMNH FARB 5764) vertebra of the sauropod Amphicoelias (Cope, 1878). A is the anterior view; B is the right lateral view; C is the posterior view; D is the left lateral view; E is the ventral view (with anterior surface toward the top). Blue polygon in C obscures hand used to brace the fragile vertebra for photography. Scale bar equals 10 centimetres. Abbreviations: acpl, anterior centroparapophyseal lamina; cpol, centropostzygapophyseal lamina; cprl, centroprezygapophyseal lamina; d, diapophysis; hs, hyposphene; lspol, lateral spinopostzygapophyseal lamina; mspol, medial spinopostzygapophyseal lamina; p, parapophysis; pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; pcpl, posterior centroparapophyseal lamina; podl, postzygodiapophyseal lamina; prsl, prespinal lamina; spdl, spinodiapophyseal lamina; sprl, spinoprezygapophyseal lamina; tpol, interpostzygapophyseal lamina. © Philip D. Mannion, Emanuel Tschopp and John A. Whitlock · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
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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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Amphicoelias Genus
Fossil sites 3 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
2
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
1
Geological formations
Morrison
2
Kadzi
1
Temporal distribution
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
2
Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)
1
Species (2)
Amphicoelias altus 149 Ma
Amphicoelias brontodiplodocus 158 Ma
Bibliography
Original description
E. D. Cope. 1877. On Amphicoelias, a genus of Saurians from the Dakota epoch of Colorado. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 17:242-246
Bibliography (3)
H. Galiano and R. Albersdörfer. 2010. A New Basal Diplodocoid Species, Amphicoelias brontodiplodocus from the Morrison Formation, Big Horn Basin, Wyoming, with Taxonomic Reevaluation of Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, Barosaurus and Other Genera. Dinosauria International (Ten Sleep, WY) Report for September 2010
N. Bertram. 1971. A new dinosaur fossil locality in the Kadsi River area of the Zambesi Valley. Mennell Society Journal (Detritus) 6:20-21
E. D. Cope. 1877. On Amphicoelias, a genus of Saurians from the Dakota epoch of Colorado. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 17:242-246