Maraapunisaurus

Ute 'high ground' lizard (approximate; the Ute element is less certain)

• Maraapuni · Ute · a Ute-language term, reportedly meaning roughly 'high ground' (not fully certain)
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines a Ute-language word with the Greek 'sauros' (lizard). It was coined in 2018 as a new genus for the giant diplodocid species Cope originally described as Amphicoelias fragillimus in 1878. The Ute element is reportedly a nod to the region's native people and roughly means 'high ground', but I'm not fully certain of that translation.

Named by

Carpenter

Year named

2018

Period

Late Jurassic

Found in

Morrison Formation, near Cañon City, Colorado, USA

Type species is Maraapunisaurus fragillimus (formerly Amphicoelias fragillimus). It is known only from a single enormous vertebra, described by Cope and since lost, so its size estimates, which are among the largest for any dinosaur, rest on Cope's drawings and notes. Some researchers still treat the species as Amphicoelias fragillimus.