Dyslocosaurus

‭(‬hard to place lizard‭)‬.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Dyslocosaurus.

Phonetic

‭(‬hard to place lizard‭)‬.

Named By

J.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Mcintosh,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Coombs‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Russell‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Diplodocoidea,‭ ‬Dicraeosauridae‭?

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

D.‭ ‬polyonychius‭

Size

Uncertain due to lack of remains.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬Wyoming,‭ ‬Lance Creek‭?

Time Period

Late Jurassic‭?

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains of the limbs.

In Depth

       Dyslocosaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Jurassic.‭ ‬It is unknown exactly where the type fossils of Dyslocosaurus are known from as when they were first discovered they only had‭ ‘‬Lance Creek‭’ ‬written on them.‭ ‬There is a Lance Formation that is named after the Lance Creek of Wyoming,‭ ‬but this is late Cretaceous in age,‭ ‬and diplodocid sauropods like Dyslocosaurus are so far only known from Late Jurassic deposits.‭

       Currently there is still a great deal of uncertainty about Dyslocosaurus and not just about where exactly it came from.‭ ‬Whereas most diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs have three toes on the hind feet,‭ ‬Dyslocosaurus was initially described as having at least four if not five toes.‭ ‬Later in‭ ‬2015‭ ‬it was noted that a pedal phalanx assigned to Dyslocosaurus had a different colouration to the others,‭ ‬suggesting a different origin and not actually belonging to the other,‭ ‬meaning that Dyslocosaurus might have only had three like in related genera.‭ ‬Dyslocosaurus has also been described as a dicraeosaurid diploocid,‭ ‬something quite rare for the North American continent.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬the vertebrae with tall neural spines that would confirm this assessment are so far unknown to us.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new diplodocid sauropod‭ (‬Dinosauria‭) ‬from Wyoming,‭ ‬U.S.A.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬12‭(‬2‭)‬:158-167.‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Mcintosh,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Coombs‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Russell‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992. -‭ ‬A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae‭ (‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Sauropoda‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬PeerJ‭ ‬3:‭ ‬e857.‭ ‬-‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Tschopp,‭ ‬O.‭ ‬V.‭ ‬Mateus‭ & ‬R.‭ ‬B.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Benson‭ ‬-‭ ‬2015.

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