Europasaurus
Name:
Europasaurus
(European lizard).
Phonetic: Yu-ro-pa-sore-us.
Named By: Mateus, Laven, & Kn�tschke
vide Sander et al - 2006.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Macronaria,
Camarasauromorpha.
Species: E. holgeri (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Up to 6.2 meters long.
Known locations: Germany.
Time period: Kimmeridgian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Many individuals represented
by partial remains, including juveniles.
Europasaurus
was a macronarian sauropod
which means it was similar in form to such
dinosaurs as Camarasaurus
and Brachiosaurus.
However Europasaurus
itself was much smaller than either of these two genera, in fact it
is one of the smallest dinosaurs of its kind. The small size of
Europasaurus has been interpreted as a case of
insular dwarfism, an
occurrence where animals grow smaller as to not exhaust the reduced
amounts of food present upon isolated island ecosystems. This
dwarfism has been confirmed by study of the bones of Europasaurus
which
show that it grew at a much slower rate than other sauropods, so
while it probably matched them in other biological areas, its upper
size limit was always capped at a smaller size of what seems to have
been around six meters long.
Europasaurus
growing smaller is a reaction to the layout of Europe during the late
Jurassic which was more akin to a collection of island chains rather
than the single large landmass of today. Europasaurus
is also not the
only dinosaur that grew smaller than its direct ancestors, with
Magyarosaurus
also thought to represent a dwarf form living in Europe
during the late Cretaceous period. By contrast the largest sauropods
such as Argentinosaurus,
Brachiosaurus and Sauroposeidon
are all
genera from continental land masses where there was more room and
growth to support their larger forms.
Further reading
- Bone histology indicates insular dwarfism in a new Late Jurassic
sauropod dinosaur. - Nature 441:739-741. - P. M. Sander, O. Mateus, T.
Laven & N. Kn�tschke - 2006.
- Cranial anatomy of the Late Jurassic dwarf sauropod Europasaurus
holgeri (Dinosauria, Camarasauromorpha): Ontogenetic changes
and size
dimorphism. - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology: 1–43. - J. S.
Marpmann, J. L. Carballido, P. M. Sander & N. Kn�tschke. -
2014.
- Dinosaur tracks from the Langenberg Quarry (Late Jurassic,
Germany) reconstructed with historical photogrammetry: Evidence for
large theropods soon after insular dwarfism. - Palaeontologia
Electronica. 18 (2): 1–34. - J. N. Lallensack, M. P. Sander, N.
Kn�tschke & O. Wings - 2015.
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