World of Dinosaurs/Camarasaurus

A reconstruction of Camarasaurus.

Basics

Camarasaurus means "Chambered Lizard".

Camarasaurus lived during the Jurassic Period.

Anatomy

They have quadrupedal posture.

Their leg bones are thick like the pillars of a suspension bridge.

It has hollow chambers in its vertebrae, hence the name "Chambered Lizard".

It had chisel shaped teeth that helped it eat plants.

Phylogeny

Camarasaurus is a sauropod.

All sauropods are dinosaurs.

All dinosaurs are amniotes and all dinosaurs are tetrapods.

Biomechanics

Camarasaurus had a much stronger bite force than earlier saurodomorphs such as Plateosaurus which helps illustrate that Camarasaurus is a derived sauropod.

It may have weighed up to 20 tons.

Fossil Record

Camarasaurus is found in Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada.

Ecology

Camarasaurus co-existed with Allosaurus, a meat-eating dinosaur.

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

Biogeography

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.

The super-continent Pangea was splitting up throughout the Jurassic Period, adding volcanic activity, particularly along the west coast, and warm, seasonally-variable habitats.