Tendaguria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tendaguria
Fossil range: Late Jurassic

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder:	Sauropoda
Genus:	Tendaguria
Species:	T. tanzaniensis

Binomial name

Tendaguria tanzaniensis
Bonaparte et al, 2000

Tendaguria (TEN-dah-GOO-ree-uh - Tendaguru + -ia) is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Jurassic.

It was a large sauropod from the Tendaguru fossil locality in Tanzania; based on two anterior dorsal vertebrae (Holotype: MB.R.2092.1 (NB4) and MB.R.2092.2 (NB5) (Museum fuer Naturkunde, Berlin)) from Nambango, 15 km southeast of Tendaguru Hill, Tanzania, probably in the Upper Saurian Bed, Tendaguru Series, Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian). The vertebrae are opisthocoelous (hollow behind) and differ from other known sauropods in their very low, almost nonexistent neural spines, which are not distinct bodies of bone, do not rise above the surrounding area of the neural arch and are continuous with transverse processes.

Tendaguria is a highly derived sauropod-- the axial musculature probably shifted to the dorsal surface of the transverse processes; its relationship to other sauropods is not clear but a cervical vertebra attributed to Tendaguria shows some similarities to Camarasaurus. It is estimated at about 20 m (66 ft) long. It was discovered by Bonaparte, Heinrich & Wild in 2000 .

The type species is Tendaguria tanzaniensis [tan-ZAY-nee-EN-sis] Bonaparte, Heinrich & Wild 2000 "after Tanzania, the country where the holotype was collected" Sauropoda Tendaguriidae Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Africa.