Camarasaurus

chambered lizard

• kamara · Greek · chamber, vaulted room
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Camarasaurus means "chambered lizard". Edward Drinker Cope chose the name because the vertebrae of the neck and back were lightened by large hollow cavities, or chambers, on their sides. These air-filled spaces reduced the weight of the backbone.

Named by

Cope

Year named

1877

Period

Late Jurassic

Stages

Kimmeridgian – Tithonian

Found in

Morrison Formation, western USA (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana)

A sauropod and one of the most common sauropods in the Morrison Formation. The type species is Camarasaurus supremus. Stage range is approximate.