Astrodon

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Astrodon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Saurischia
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Brachiosauridae
Genus: Astrodon
Species: A. johnstoni
Binomial name
Astrodon johnstoni
Leidy, 1865

Astrodon was a large herbivorous dinosaur that lived in what is now the eastern United States during the Early Cretaceous period, from 95 to 130 million years ago. Adults are estimated to have been more than 30 feet high and 50 to 60 feet long.

[edit] Discovery and Species

Sauropod material was found in the Arundel Formation near Bladensburg, Maryland and named Astrodon in 1859 by Christopher Johnson. However Johnson did not attach a specific epithet, so Joseph Leidy is credited with naming Astrodon johnstoni in 1865.

In 1998, Astrodon johnstoni was named the state dinosaur of Maryland.

[edit] References

  • Carpenter, Kenneth and Tidswell, Virginia (2005). "Reassessment of the Early Cretaceous Sauropod Astrodon johnsoni Leidy 1865 (Titanosauriformes)", in Carpenter, Kenneth and Tidswell, Virginia (ed.): Thunder Lizards: The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press, 38–77. ISBN 978-0-253-34542-4. 

[edit] External links


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