Callawayasaurus
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| Callawayasaurus Fossil range: Early Cretaceous (Aptian) |
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Callawayasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the family, Elasmosauridae. When the first Callawayasaurus fossil was first discovered by Samuel Paul Welles in 1962, he described it as Alzadasaurus colombiensis before it was moved into its current genus by Kenneth Carpenter in 1999.[1]
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[edit] Etymology
Callawayasaurus (Callaway) is named in honor of the paleontologist, Jack M. Callaway, editor of Ancient Marine Reptiles who, as Carpenter put it, "in his brief career as a vertebrate paleontologist, did much to improve our understanding of marine reptiles".[1] The familiar suffix, -saurus comes from the Greek sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard" or "reptile."[2]
[edit] Description
The first skull of Callawayasaurus to be found was 35 cm long,[3] while the animal as a whole grew up to 8 m long. The nares of Callawayasaurus are elongated and positioned over the maxilla, which has 3-5 teeth.[2] The neck contains 56nbsp;vertebrae which are relatively short compared to other elasmosaurids.[2] Callawayasaurus fossils have no pectoral bars; in common with other plesiosaurs such as Terminonatator. They also lack postaxial accessory facets.[4]
Another nearly complete skeleton was found to be slightly more robust than the holotype specimen. This subtle change may indicate sexual dimorphism.[2]
[edit] Distribution
The fist Callawayasaurus remains were found in the Paja Formation near Leiva, Boyaca Columbia.[2] The species name for the type, "columbiensis", means "from Columbia."[2] Callawayasaurus are known from the Aptian faunal stage of the early Cretaceous period, which extended from 125 to 112 million years ago.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Carpenter, K. 1999. "Revision of North American elasmosaurs from the Cretaceous of the Western Interior". Paludicola 2(2):148-173.
- ^ a b c d e f ppne.co.uk entry on Callawayasaurus. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ oceansofkansas.com entry on Callawayasaurus. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Anthony P. Russell., "A new Elasmosaurid Plesiosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the lower Cretaceous Clearwater Formation, Northeastern Alberta, Canada". Vertebrate Morphology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary
- ^ stratigraphy.org entry on Apitan stage. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
