Supersaurus

super lizard

• super · Latin · above, over, beyond (here 'super', extremely large)
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Supersaurus combines the Latin prefix "super" (above or beyond, here meaning extraordinary) with the Greek "sauros" (lizard). Jensen chose the name because of the enormous size of the animal, a diplodocid sauropod known from very large vertebrae and limb bones, making it one of the longest dinosaurs known.

Named by

Jensen

Year named

1985

Period

Late Jurassic

Stages

Kimmeridgian – Tithonian

Found in

Morrison Formation, western USA (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah)

A diplodocid sauropod from the Morrison Formation. The type species is Supersaurus vivianae. Some material once assigned to "Ultrasaurus" (Jensen's informal name, preoccupied) and Dystylosaurus has been linked to it. Stage range is approximate.