Coloradisaurus
Name:
Coloradisaurus
(Colorados lizard).
Phonetic: Col-o-rah-de-dore-us.
Named By: David Lambert - 1983 (originally
named Coloradia by Jose Fernando Bonaparte in 1978).
Synonyms: Coloradia brevis.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Plateosauria, Massopoda,
Massospondylidae.
Species: C. brevis (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Unknown due to lack of remains.
Known locations: Argentina, La Rioja Province -
Los Colorados Formation.
Time period: Norian to Rhaetian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skull.
Originally
named Coloradia, it was later discovered that the
genus name had
already been assigned to a type of moth, hence the revision and
change to Coloradisaurus in 1983. Identified as
a massospondylid
sauropodomorph, Coloradisaurus has been
considered as a synonym to
the genus Mussaurus.
However, Mussaurus has been established only
upon hatchlings, it will be impossible to be certain of this without
the discovery of more individuals of different ages that show the
transition from juvenile to adult individuals.
Coloradisaurus
is named after the Los Colorados Formation where the holotype fossil
was discovered, other dinosaurs from this formation include
Riojasaurus,
Lessemsaurus
and Zupaysaurus,
the latter of which
might have been a predator of Coloradisaurus.
Further reading
- Coloradia brevis n. g. et n. sp.
(Saurischia–Prosauropoda), dinosaurio Plateosauridae de la
Formacion Los Colorados, Triasico Superior de La Rioja, Argentina,
Jose F. Bonaparte in 1978.
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