What is a Supersaurus?
Supersaurus was a dinosaur of enormous dimensions that is believed to have lived during the last phase of the Jurassic. It had a very long neck, a long tail and a large body volume.
Its head was small and consequently it had a small brain.. What differentiated them from other similar dinosaurs such as Diplodocus and Argentinosaurus was their great length. An adult specimen could have been just over 30 meters long.
However, although it had large dimensions, it was not the heaviest of the dinosaurs. Its volume could cover a minimum of 27 tons and a maximum of 50. In this it was not even close to the Bruhathkayosaurus or the Futalognkosaurus, which easily weighed more than 100 tons.
Supersaurus discovery
It all started in 1943 when Eddie Jones and his wife Vivian were searching for uranium during World War II. They then found a brachiosaurus skeleton that was badly eroded in Potter Creek, in the Upcompahgre Upwarp. They donated this discovery in 1955 to the Smithsonian Institution.
In the following years, this aroused the interest of paleontologist James A. Jensen in the quarry where it was found. In 1972 he established a collection of material found at Dry Mesa which is one of the Uncompahgre localities.
In August, the pelvis of a large sauropod was found. That was the first discovery of what appeared to be a very large sauropod in the area.
At the end of that year the first large scapulocoracoid was found on Dry Mesa. It would later be named as the first Supersaurus specimen. However, it is the second specimen discovered some time later that would become the holotype when the genus was formally named.
Then Jensen reported the discovery of a new large sauropod, which he called Ultrasaurus macitocshi. But later it was found that the type specimen of this supposed new species, which was a vertebral column, had actually originated from a Supersaurus.
The certainty was such that there was even the possibility that it was part of the first specimen found in the same quarry in 1972. As a consequence, Ultrasaurus became a minor synonym of Supersaurus, whose characteristics were first established.
The remains found at Dry Mesa Quarry in 1972 consisted of an ischium, tail vertebrae, and shoulder girdle. James A. Jensen assigned the scapulocoracoid as the type specimen. It stood out because it was 2.4 meters tall, when it was in a vertical position.
In 1973 it received the name Supersaurus but informally.. Its formal description and designation occurred in 1985. Jack McIntosh who specialized in sauropods initially entertained the possibility that it was a Barosaurus, but later stated that the evidence that it was a Supersaurus was valid.
In 1986, a more complete specimen was found in Converse County. He was named Jimbo and in 2007 he was assigned to Supersaurus. It covered 30% of the total skeleton.
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Alvin Jensen
The main person responsible for the discovery of Supersaurus was undoubtedly the American paleontologist Alvin Jensen. His 23-year career has been compiled at Brigham Young University in the city of Utah in the state of Colorado, in the United States.
His work is frequently compared to that carried out by paleontologist Barnum Brown at the beginning of the 20th century.
One of his most important contributions was the replacement of metal straps and posts used to assemble standing dinosaur fossils. Instead he devised a support system that was placed inside the bones, which provided a strong structure with which he could stand.
It was a unique innovation in paleontology that continues to be applied today. It is a resource that increases the aesthetic appeal of fossils for viewers.
What does Supersaurus mean?
The name comes from a combination of Latin and ancient Greek, in which super refers to something higher and saurus means lizard. For what your name means super lizard.
The epithet vivianae is by Vivian Jones, wife of a sawmill operator Eddie Jones who were the ones who found the first fossil remains in the area where remains of the Supersaurus were later found.
What characterizes Sauropods?
The Supersaurus belongs to the Sauropoda subfamily, so it is specifically a sauropod. The dinosaurs of this group were characterized by having a large body volume, a long tail and neck, and an exclusively herbivorous diet. They also moved on their four legs.
They were also the largest specimens that have ever existed, not only in prehistory. In fact they were the largest natural life on the planet.
Its head was small and was located on a very long neck. Her body was massive and contained a huge intestine. His legs had the capacity of large pillars to support the torso. Their tail was long and sharp and they often used it as a whip to defend themselves.
There was an important fusion between the hip and the spine through five sacral vertebrae, giving strong support to the tail and body. Its spine hollowed at the sides reduced its weight and retained strength in its structure.
It was initially thought that they spent time in the water to deal with their weight. But this was discarded when it was found that they were actually better adapted to dry land.
Their long necks allowed them to feed on the high treetops. Their teeth generally had the shape of a spoon, which helped them obtain plant matter. For digestion they made use of stones that they swallowed, which are known as gastroliths.
They were saurischians, a group to which theropods also belonged. They evolved in subgroups known as Brachiosauridae, Camarsaridae, Cetiosaurids, Diplodocidae and Titanosaurus.
The smallest sauropods could measure up to 15 meters long. Other larger ones like Apatosaurus could measure 20 meters. The scale continued with the Brachiosaurus whose length was 30 meters and whose body volume was around 80 tons.
This group evolved at the beginning of the Jurassic between 201 and 174 million years ago. They became extremely large late in the period and persisted through much of the Cretaceous.
Supersaurus Features
The Supersaurus was a typical sauropod that was characterized as the largest to live in North America. Below you will learn about its most important characteristics.
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Classification
Supersaurus was originally thought to be closely related to Barosaurus, making it a member of the subfamily Diplodocinae. Later studies found that it was a close relative of Apatosaurus, and consequently this placed it among the Apatosaruinae.
However, this suggestion was reconsidered in a 2011 study by Whitlock, who clearly established that Apatosaurus was at the beginning of the diplodocid genealogy. In this way, apatosaurines such as Supersaurus would be aligned again within the diplodocids.
Feeding
The Supersaurus was a large herbivorous animal that consumed large amounts of vegetables to maintain its enormous body volume. It is estimated that it would consume an average of two tons per day.
It had a very large body volume, which made its most logical natural environment to be on firm ground. If it had moved through swamps, it would possibly have fallen dramatically, with great problems getting back up.
In the same way, it is believed that he used his teeth to swallow food, without chewing it. For that he used gastroliths. These consisted of stones that they swallowed to process and digest food.
It ate well-developed plants during that time, including conifers, horsetails, and willows..
Behavior
Specialists believe that supersaurs traveled in packs. Due to their diet they had to migrate to continually obtain their food source. It reproduced by laying eggs in a linear pattern on the floor and not in nests.
Studies of their fossils indicate that they put them on while walking, which for specialists is a sign that they did not take care of their young.
Life expectancy
Specialists have been able to estimate the development cycle of the Supersaurus, which has allowed them to calculate that its life expectancy was about 100 years.
Neck
The study of its fossils suggests that the Supersaurus’s neck was kept in a parallel position with respect to the ground. There has been more than one hypothesis when it comes to how sauropods used this part of the body.
The most logical thing is to think that they used it to feed on tall foliage, which was not available to other herbivorous dinosaurs. It is also believed that in the case of Supersaurus this would have served to ingest pteriophytes that were found in the wetlands, to which they could not venture.
Speed
When investigating and comparing the length of its legs, its body mass and its fossil footprints, everything indicates that Supersaurus was a very slow animal.
Intelligence
As is the trend among sauropods, everything indicates that Supersaurus’s intelligence was among the lowest within his clan. This is because its small head could only accommodate a very small brain, relative to its body mass.
In its initial studies it was thought that it had a second brain. But it was later discovered that it was actually an enlargement of the spinal cord in the hip.
When he lived
Studies of the remains of Supersaurus indicate that it lived between 155 and 150 million years ago, in the final phase of the Jurassic period.
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Dimensions
The reconstruction of its structure has shown that its body volume was between 28 and 40 tons. Its length could be up to 35 meters.
Where he lived
Taking into account the area where the Supersaurus fossils were found, they place it in the Morrison Formation in Dry Mesa Quarry in 1972. The fossil nicknamed Jimbo was found in Converse County in 1986.
Habitat
Everything indicates that the Supersaurus’ habitat was in the forests of North America. They must have been familiar with the green vegetation of these low-lying areas, whose treetops had the food they needed.
Who did they live with?
Depending on the area and time in which it lived, Saupersaurus coexisted with Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus.
Bones
No complete fossils of Supersaurus have been discovered, so it is not possible to know how many bones it had. It is something that cannot be estimated even with the specimen known as Jimbo that was in the best condition.
Communication
Jensen’s work did not include a description of communion in sauropods. However, it can be inferred that they would be able to do so through chemical and tactile signals.
When did the Supersaurus become extinct?
The…