World of Dinosaurs/Camarasaurus
Basics
[edit | edit source]Camarasaurus means "Chambered Lizard".
Camarasaurus lived during the Jurassic Period.
Anatomy
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Camarasaurus is a sauropod.
All sauropods are dinosaurs.
All dinosaurs are amniotes and all dinosaurs are tetrapods.
Biomechanics
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Camarasaurus is found in Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada.
Ecology
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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.