World of Dinosaurs/Barosaurus

A Barosaurus skeleton rearing on hind legs in the American Museum of Natural History.

Basics

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Barosaurus means "Heavy Lizard".

Barosaurus lived during the Jurassic Period

Anatomy

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Barosaurus is a large plant-eating dinosaur.

It had a long tail and a small head.

It was about 66-88 feet long.

Phylogeny

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Barosaurus is a sauropod.

All sauropods are dinosaurs.

All dinosaurs are amniotes and all dinosaurs are tetrapods.

Biomechanics

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Based on the way Barosaurus necks are constructed, they might not have raised them, but rather swept them around the ground.

Fossil Record

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They are found in Utah and South Dakota.

Ecology

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Ferns, shrubs, and trees would have been common, but flowering plants, fruit trees, or grass were NOT around yet!

Barosaurus co-existed with Allosaurus as well as other sauropods.

 
An artistic rendition of what predators attacking a Barosaurus might look like.

Biogeography

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Rocks from the Jurassic period indicate hotter, wetter conditions than we experience on Earth today.

Rocks do not show signs of ice caps near the poles, of traveling ice-bergs, or other signs of "ice house" conditions.

Barosaurus lived in a semi-arid, seasonal floodplain. The super-continent Pangea was splitting up throughout the Jurassic Period, adding volcanic activity, particularly along the west coast, and warm, seasonally-variable habitats.