Lessemsaurus
Name:
Lessemsaurus
(Lessem’s lizard).
Phonetic: Les-sem-sore-us.
Named By: Jose Fernando Bonaparte - 1999.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda.
Species: L. sauropoides (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About 9.1 meters long.
Known locations: Argentina, La Rioja Province -
Los Colorados Formation.
Time period: Norian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Vertebrae from a partially
articulated spine.
Lessemsaurus
is a genus of sauropod
dinosaur named in honour of the Don Lessem, an
author noted for his work
writing popular science books. Although Lessemsaurus
is so far only
based upon the description of vertebrae. These vertebrae are noted
for having tall neural spines, something which may hint at a fleshy
or fatty ridge than ran down the back of the living dinosaur. Being
estimated at around nine meters long, Lessemsaurus
was not far from
the sauropodomorph Riojasaurus
in terms of overall size.
Aside
from Riojasaurus, other dinosaurs from the Los
Colorados Formation
that Lessemsaurus
may have come into contact with include the
massospondylid Coloradisaurus,
and the theropod Zupaysaurus.
Further reading
- Evoluci�n de las v�rtebras presacras en Sauropodomorpha, Jose
Fernando Bonaparte - 1999.
-New information on Lessemsaurus sauropoides
(Dinosauria:
Sauropodomorpha) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina, D. Pol
& J. E. Powell - 2007.
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