Camarasaurus

Camarasaurus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 155–145 Ma
Mounted skeletal cast at the Jurassic Museum of Asturias
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Family: Camarasauridae
Subfamily: Camarasaurinae
Cope, 1878
Genus: Camarasaurus
Cope, 1877a
Type species
Camarasaurus supremus
Cope, 1877a
Other species
Synonyms
  • Caulodon
    Cope, 1877
  • Morosaurus
    Marsh, 1878
  • Uintasaurus
    Holland, 1924
  • Cathetosaurus?
    Jensen, 1988

Camarasaurus (/ˌkæmərəˈsɔːrəs/ KAM-ər-ə-SOR-əs) was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian stages), between 155 and 145 million years ago.

Camarasaurus presented a distinctive cranial profile of a blunt snout and an arched skull that was remarkably square, typical of basal Macronarians.

The name means "chambered lizard", referring to the hollow chambers, known as pleurocoels, in its cervical vertebrae (Greek καμαρα (kamara) meaning "vaulted chamber", or anything with an arched cover, and σαυρος (sauros) meaning "lizard").

Camarasaurus contains four species that are commonly recognized as valid: Camarasaurus grandis, Camarasaurus lentus, Camarasaurus lewisi, and Camarasaurus supremus. C. supremus, the type species, is the largest and geologically youngest of the four. Camarasaurus is the type genus of Camarasauridae, which also includes its European close relative Lourinhasaurus.

Camarasaurus was named in 1877 by Edward Drinker Cope, during the period of scientific rivalry between him and Othniel Charles Marsh known as the Bone Wars. Soon after, Marsh named a genus Morosaurus, but it was subsequently shown to be synonymous with Camarasaurus.