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109-540: Camarasaurus ( / ˌ k æ m ər ə ˈ s ɔː r ə s / KAM -ər-ə- SOR -əs ) was a genus of quadrupedal , herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation , dating to the Late Jurassic epoch ( Kimmeridgian to Tithonian stages), between 155 and 145 million years ago. Camarasaurus presented

218-489: A Brontosaurus , the skull of the mount was notoriously based on material that was likely from a Camarasaurus from Como Bluff. The Carnegie Museum had an important Camarasaurus discovery in 1909 of a nearly complete skeleton of a juvenile, now under specimen number CM 11338. The specimen was notably found articulated in a death pose and is prominently displayed at the Carnegie Museum hall. Earl Douglass discovered

327-710: A natural history museum at Yale . While studying at the University of Berlin in late 1863, the 32-year-old Marsh first met 25-year-old Edward Drinker Cope , who was also on a scientific tour of Europe. Cope had much less formal schooling than Marsh, but had already published thirty-seven papers. The two Americans spent a few days together and would become friends. After a salmon fishing excursion with Peabody in Ireland, Marsh returned to America in July or August 1865. Marsh had expected Peabody's gift would have resulted in

436-476: A basal eusauropod. A simplified cladogram of basal Macronaria after Tan et al (2020) is shown below: Turiasauria Jobaria Diplodocoidea Camarasaurus Bellusaurus Europasaurus Tehuelchesaurus Galvesaurus Euhelopus Titanosauriformes Camarasaurus is considered to be a basal macronarian, more closely related to the common ancestor of all macronarians than to more derived forms like Brachiosaurus . Camarasaurus

545-430: A beak of some variety, though this is not known for certain. The neck of Camarasaurus was of only moderate length by sauropod standards. It was composed of 12 vertebrae. Most of the cervical neural spines were bifurcated, with more vertebrae developing bifurcated neural spines as the animal grew. As in other sauropods, the vertebrae of the neck and torso contained chambers that in life were filled by air sacs connected to

654-451: A description of a pathology observed on the humerus. They noted a juxtacortical lesion 25 by 18 cm wide made of bone that resembled woven fibers. Although woven bone forms in accessory dental bone, in other locations, it is a sign of injury or illness. The woven bone's "undulating fibrous bundles" were observed oriented in the direction of the m. brachialis . The lesion's fusion and lack of porosity at its near and far ends indicate

763-596: A distinctive cranial profile of a blunt snout and an arched skull that was remarkably square, typical of basal Macronarians . The name means "chambered lizard", referring to the hollow chambers, known as pleurocoels , in its cervical vertebrae ( Greek καμαρα ( kamara ) meaning "vaulted chamber", or anything with an arched cover, and σαυρος ( sauros ) meaning "lizard"). Camarasaurus contains four species that are commonly recognized as valid: Camarasaurus grandis , Camarasaurus lentus , Camarasaurus lewisi , and Camarasaurus supremus . C. supremus ,

872-407: A genus is determined by taxonomists . The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: Moreover, genera should be composed of phylogenetic units of

981-516: A hundred new species of vertebrate fossils. After 1876, Marsh employed bone hunters who shipped specimens back to him; he did not return west himself until 1879. When Cope began prospecting for fossils in the Bridger Basin, which Marsh considered "his" territory, their relationship deteriorated into hostility. Marsh served as Vertebrate Paleontologist of the U.S. Geological Survey from 1882 to 1892. Thanks to John Wesley Powell , head of

1090-751: A larger, later-surviving population of animals. Previously, scientists have suggested that Camarasaurus and other sauropods may have swallowed gastroliths (stones) to help grind the food in the stomach, regurgitating or passing them when they became too smooth. More recent analysis, however, of the evidence for stomach stones suggests this was not the case. The strong, robust teeth of Camarasaurus were more developed than those of most sauropods and were replaced on average every 62 days (M. D'Emic et al.), indicating that Camarasaurus may have masticated food in its mouth to some degree before swallowing. Other findings indicate that Camarasaurus spp. preferred vegetation different from other sauropods, allowing them to share

1199-651: A later homonym of a validly published name is a nomen illegitimum or nom. illeg. ; for a full list refer to the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants and the work cited above by Hawksworth, 2010. In place of the "valid taxon" in zoology, the nearest equivalent in botany is " correct name " or "current name" which can, again, differ or change with alternative taxonomic treatments or new information that results in previously accepted genera being combined or split. Prokaryote and virus codes of nomenclature also exist which serve as

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1308-419: A lesser degree the m. biceps brachii to the lesion's position on the humerus. The researchers inferred that the inflammation of the muscles and periosteum would have caused additional complications in the lower region of the fore limb, as well. The lesion would also have caused long-term fasciitis and myosistis . The cumulative effect of these pathological processes would have moderate to severe effects on

1417-628: A long time and redescribed as new by a range of subsequent workers, or if a range of genera previously considered separate taxa have subsequently been consolidated into one. For example, the World Register of Marine Species presently lists 8 genus-level synonyms for the sperm whale genus Physeter Linnaeus, 1758, and 13 for the bivalve genus Pecten O.F. Müller, 1776. Within the same kingdom, one generic name can apply to one genus only. However, many names have been assigned (usually unintentionally) to two or more different genera. For example,

1526-453: A maximum estimated weight of 47  metric tons (51.8  tons ). In 2016, Gregory S. Paul estimated its weight at 23  metric tons (25.4  tons ), whereas in 2020, John Foster estimated its weight at 42.3  metric tons (46.6  tons ). The arched skull of Camarasaurus was remarkably square and the blunt snout had many fenestrae . The robust skull of Camarasaurus preserves much better than many other sauropods, unlike

1635-480: A meeting of the American Association, Marsh elected to join other members to Omaha on a "geological excursion"; it was Marsh's first trip to the far western United States, and it inspired him to return to prospect. Marsh organized a series of private expeditions starting in 1870 to 1874, with the prospecting groups composed of Yale students or recent graduates. The first of these uncovered more than

1744-444: A new species of Amphicoelias by Cope which he named Amphicoelias latus in 1877. This species was tentatively synonymized with C. supremus in 1921. In 1998, Kenneth Carpenter argued that the stratigraphic position of the find suggested it was more likely to be synonymous with C. grandis , but in a 2005 study of the biostratigraphic distribution of Camarasaurus , Takehito Ikejiri retained it in synonymy with C. supremus . In 1878,

1853-440: A position at Yale, but it took until 1866 when Yale established a chair of paleontology at the university. Marsh was given the position, but no salary was attached; biographer George Grinnell suggested that this suited Marsh just fine, as he was more interested in research than teaching. Marsh's interests shifted entirely to paleontology, and after 1869 his other scientific contributions mostly ceased. While teaching, Marsh toured

1962-419: A professor of science. While in graduate school, Marsh published his first scientific papers on minerals and vertebrate fossils from his Nova Scotia trips, which possibly inspired Marsh's interest in vertebrate paleontology. He obtained his masters degree in 1862. Following school, Marsh declined a professorship at Yale and instead took a tour of Europe; it is possible the trip was to avoid being drafted into

2071-992: A record 1400 scientific papers. Marsh named the following dinosaur genera : He named the suborders Ceratopsia (1890), Ceratosauria (1884), Ornithopoda (1881), Stegosauria (1877), and Theropoda (1881). He also named the families Allosauridae (1878), Anchisauridae (1885), Camptosauridae (1885), Ceratopsidae (1890), Ceratosauridae , Coeluridae , Diplodocidae (1884), Dryptosauridae (1890), Nodosauridae (1890), Ornithomimidae (1890), Plateosauridae (1895), and Stegosauridae (1880). Marsh dubbed many additional species of dinosaur as well, notable taxa including Allosaurus fragilis , Triceratops horridus , Stegosaurus stenops , Ornithomimus velox , and Brontosaurus excelsus . Dinosaurs named by others in honour of Marsh include Hoplitosaurus marshi (Lucas, 1901), Iaceornis marshi (Clarke, 2004), Marshosaurus (Madsen, 1976), Othnielia (Galton, 1977), and Othnielosaurus (Galton, 2007). Marsh's finds formed

2180-409: A reference for designating currently accepted genus names as opposed to others which may be either reduced to synonymy, or, in the case of prokaryotes, relegated to a status of "names without standing in prokaryotic nomenclature". An available (zoological) or validly published (botanical) name that has been historically applied to a genus but is not regarded as the accepted (current/valid) name for

2289-536: A sauropod sacrum was discovered with several other jumbled sauropod postcranial elements, again at Como Bluff. The remains were also sent to Marsh and in 1878 the sacrum was assigned to a new genus and species, Morosaurus impar ("unpaired stupid lizard"). Morosaurus would receive several new species throughout the late 19th century, even becoming part of a new family in 1892, the Morosauridae . A majority of Morosaurus species are now considered dubious, including

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2398-437: A species of Camarasaurus in 1996. Some researchers have suggested that Cathetosaurus should be reinstated as a distinct genus, whereas others have suggested that C. lewisi may be synonymous with another Camarasaurus species. C. supremus , as its name suggests, is the largest known species of Camarasaurus and one of the most massive sauropods known from the late Jurassic Morrison Formation . Except for its huge size, it

2507-427: A taxon; however, the names published in suppressed works are made unavailable via the relevant Opinion dealing with the work in question. In botany, similar concepts exist but with different labels. The botanical equivalent of zoology's "available name" is a validly published name . An invalidly published name is a nomen invalidum or nom. inval. ; a rejected name is a nomen rejiciendum or nom. rej. ;

2616-482: A teaching position at Yale upon his return. From the 1870s to 1890s, he competed with rival paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in a period of frenzied Western American expeditions known as the Bone Wars . Marsh's greatest legacy is the collection of Mesozoic reptiles, Cretaceous birds, and Mesozoic and Tertiary mammals that now constitute the backbone of the collections of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History and

2725-455: A total of c. 520,000 published names (including synonyms) as at end 2019, increasing at some 2,500 published generic names per year. "Official" registers of taxon names at all ranks, including genera, exist for a few groups only such as viruses and prokaryotes, while for others there are compendia with no "official" standing such as Index Fungorum for fungi, Index Nominum Algarum and AlgaeBase for algae, Index Nominum Genericorum and

2834-612: Is discouraged by both the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants , there are some five thousand such names in use in more than one kingdom. For instance, A list of generic homonyms (with their authorities), including both available (validly published) and selected unavailable names, has been compiled by the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). The type genus forms

2943-475: Is found in a wide area over the western United States, from as far north as Montana to as far south as New Mexico, in rocks of the Morrison Formation . Due to this abundance, Camarasaurus is a very well-known sauropod. A juvenile specimen of Camarasaurus , CM 11338, is the most complete sauropod skeleton ever discovered. Numerous skulls are known. Even though complete necks are rarely found in sauropods, five specimens of Camarasaurus preserve all or nearly all of

3052-687: Is interpreted as semiarid with distinct wet and dry seasons . Dinosaur and trace fossils are found particularly in the Morrison Basin, which stretches from New Mexico to Alberta and Saskatchewan and was formed when the precursors to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains started pushing up to the west. Eroded material from their east-facing drainage basins was carried by streams and rivers and deposited in swampy lowlands, lakes, river channels, and floodplains . The formation

3161-399: Is one of the best known, with nearly every element articulated and skin impressions from the skull and hindlimb. The specimen, SMA 002, has not yet gotten a full identification, but has been suggested to be a specimen of C. lewisi . In 1996, several fragmentary remains of Camarasaurus were described from western South Dakota and New Mexico , extending the northeastern and southern range of

3270-411: Is regarded as containing four valid species by most researchers: C. grandis , C. lentus , C. lewisi , and C. supremus . C. supremus , the species named by Cope in 1877, is the type species . C. grandis was named in 1877 and C. lentus in 1889. The fourth species, C. lewisi , is of uncertain affinities. It was originally described as a distinct genus, Cathetosaurus , in 1988, but reclassified as

3379-678: Is similar in age to the Lourinha Formation in Portugal and the Cañadón Calcáreo Formation in Argentina, Camarasaurid fossils have been found at the 2 formations. In 1877, it became the center of the Bone Wars , a fossil-collecting rivalry between early paleontologists Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope , with Camarasaurus itself being discovered and named by the latter Paleontologist during

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3488-460: Is somewhat arbitrary. Although all species within a genus are supposed to be "similar", there are no objective criteria for grouping species into genera. There is much debate among zoologists about whether enormous, species-rich genera should be maintained, as it is extremely difficult to come up with identification keys or even character sets that distinguish all species. Hence, many taxonomists argue in favor of breaking down large genera. For instance,

3597-474: Is the type species , and the generic name is permanently associated with the type specimen of its type species. Should the specimen turn out to be assignable to another genus, the generic name linked to it becomes a junior synonym and the remaining taxa in the former genus need to be reassessed. In zoological usage, taxonomic names, including those of genera, are classified as "available" or "unavailable". Available names are those published in accordance with

3706-407: Is the only taxon uncontroversially regarded as a valid genus of camarasaurid. It contains four species: C. grandis , C. lentus , C. lewisi , and C. supremus . C. lewisi may represent a distinct genus, Cathetosaurus . Lourinhasaurus , the type species of which was formerly assigned to Camarasaurus , is regarded as a camarasaurid by most studies, though it has also been considered to be

3815-489: The American Civil War , although he might have also been disqualified from service on account of his eyesight. Marsh traveled through England, France, Germany, and Switzerland, studying with or making the acquaintance of prominent scientists such as Heinrich Ernst Beyrich , Wilhelm Peters , Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg and Henry Woodward . In discussions with his uncle, Marsh convinced the businessman to fund

3924-621: The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ; the earliest such name for any taxon (for example, a genus) should then be selected as the " valid " (i.e., current or accepted) name for the taxon in question. Consequently, there will be more available names than valid names at any point in time; which names are currently in use depending on the judgement of taxonomists in either combining taxa described under multiple names, or splitting taxa which may bring available names previously treated as synonyms back into use. "Unavailable" names in zoology comprise names that either were not published according to

4033-824: The International Plant Names Index for plants in general, and ferns through angiosperms, respectively, and Nomenclator Zoologicus and the Index to Organism Names for zoological names. Totals for both "all names" and estimates for "accepted names" as held in the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG) are broken down further in the publication by Rees et al., 2020 cited above. The accepted names estimates are as follows, broken down by kingdom: The cited ranges of uncertainty arise because IRMNG lists "uncertain" names (not researched therein) in addition to known "accepted" names;

4142-455: The Late Jurassic . Camarasaurids had shorter forelimbs than hindlimbs, large scapulocoracoids, and longer tails than necks. When Edward Cope described Camarasaurus in 1877, he believed it was a dinosaur closely related to Cetiosaurus , Bothriospondylus , Ornithopsis , Anchisaurus ( Megadactylus ), and Pneumatosteus , but didn’t name a group for these taxa until the description of Amphicoelias when he erected Camarasauridae. Camarasaurus

4251-503: The Smithsonian Institution . Marsh has been called "both a superb paleontologist and the greatest proponent of Darwinism in nineteenth-century America." Othniel Charles Marsh was born on October 29, 1831, near Lockport, New York. He was the third of four children born to Mary Gaines Peabody (1807–1834) and Caleb Marsh (1800–1865). The Marsh (nee Marshe) family and Peabody families immigrated to America from England in

4360-419: The nomenclature codes , which allow each species a single unique name that, for animals (including protists ), plants (also including algae and fungi ) and prokaryotes ( bacteria and archaea ), is Latin and binomial in form; this contrasts with common or vernacular names , which are non-standardized, can be non-unique, and typically also vary by country and language of usage. Except for viruses ,

4469-404: The platypus belongs to the genus Ornithorhynchus although George Shaw named it Platypus in 1799 (these two names are thus synonyms ) . However, the name Platypus had already been given to a group of ambrosia beetles by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Herbst in 1793. A name that means two different things is a homonym . Since beetles and platypuses are both members of the kingdom Animalia,

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4578-439: The respiratory system . The air sacs could take up more than half of the space inside the vertebrae, making them as highly pneumatic as the bones of birds. It is these chambers that give Camarasaurus its name, "chambered lizard". The tail of Camarasaurus was composed of 53 vertebrae. Camarasaurus is the type genus of the family Camarasauridae , members of which are medium-sized Macronarian sauropods that mostly date to

4687-839: The theropods Saurophaganax , Torvosaurus , Ceratosaurus , Marshosaurus , Stokesosaurus , Ornitholestes , and Allosaurus , which accounted for up to 75% of theropod specimens, and was at the top trophic level of the Morrison food web . Camarasaurus is commonly found at the same sites as Allosaurus , Apatosaurus , Stegosaurus , and Diplodocus . Other organisms in this region included bivalves , snails , ray-finned fishes , frogs , salamanders , turtles , sphenodonts , lizards , terrestrial and aquatic crocodylomorphs , and several species of pterosaurs such as Harpactognathus and Mesadactylus . Early mammals present were docodonts (such as Docodon ), multituberculates , symmetrodonts, and triconodonts . The flora of

4796-415: The type species , is the largest and geologically youngest of the four. Camarasaurus is the type genus of Camarasauridae , which also includes its European close relative Lourinhasaurus . Camarasaurus was named in 1877 by Edward Drinker Cope , during the period of scientific rivalry between him and Othniel Charles Marsh known as the Bone Wars . Soon after, Marsh named a genus Morosaurus , but it

4905-467: The 1630s. Mary died shortly after the birth of her fourth child in 1834. Caleb remarried in 1836 and Othniel moved with the family to Bradford, Massachusetts . Soon after, Caleb's business fortunes soured, and Othniel's early years were marked by financial struggles. Caleb purchased a farm in Lockport when Marsh was twelve. As the eldest son, Othniel was expected to assist his father on the farm, and

5014-784: The AMNH's Bone Cabin Quarry at Como Bluff. This skeleton was referred to Camarasaurus grandis and is one of the most complete specimens assigned to the species, it now resides at the Gunma Museum of Natural History in Tokyo under specimen number GMNH-PV 101. 1992 saw yet another Camarasaurus skeleton discovery further north at Howe Quarry , Wyoming by crews working for the Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland. The skeleton

5123-530: The Law of brain growth, which states that, during the tertiary period, many taxonomic groups presented gradual increase in the size of the brain. This evolutionary law remains being used due to its explanatory, and to a certain extent, predictive potential Prior to Marsh's efforts, the entirety of fossil remains known in North America was quite small. As a result of the generosity of George Peabody , Marsh

5232-906: The Peabody fossil hall. He donated his home in New Haven, Connecticut, to Yale University in 1899. The Othniel C. Marsh House , now known as Marsh Hall, is designated a National Historic Landmark . Marsh Hall serves as the home of the Yale School of Forestry at the Yale School of the Environment . The grounds are now known as the Marsh Botanical Garden . Marsh was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1877. Marsh formulated

5341-649: The USGS, and Marsh's contacts in Washington, Marsh was placed at the head of the consolidated government survey in the late 1880s. In 1880, Marsh caught the attention of the scientific world with the publication of Odontornithes: a Monograph on Extinct Birds of North America, which included his discoveries of birds with teeth. These skeletons helped bridge the gap between dinosaurs and birds, and provided invaluable support for Darwin's theory of evolution. Darwin wrote to Marsh saying, "Your work on these old birds & on

5450-404: The ability of the limb to move and "made everyday activities such as foraging for food and escaping predators harder to accomplish." To help determine the cause of the pathology, McWhinney and the other researchers performed a CT scan in 3-mm increments. The CT scan found that the mass had a consistent radiodensity and was separated from the cortex of the bone by a radiolucent line. No evidence

5559-467: The aquatic reptile Elasmosaurus , was flawed: Cope had placed the head of the animal where its tail should have been. Marsh's criticism wrankled Cope, and threatened his nascent career; he responded by critiquing errors in Marsh's work, and moving in on areas Marsh was prospecting in. Their relationship began to sour. Marsh was looking further afield than New Jersey for fossils. After visiting Chicago for

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5668-442: The base for higher taxonomic ranks, such as the family name Canidae ("Canids") based on Canis . However, this does not typically ascend more than one or two levels: the order to which dogs and wolves belong is Carnivora ("Carnivores"). The numbers of either accepted, or all published genus names is not known precisely; Rees et al., 2020 estimate that approximately 310,000 accepted names (valid taxa) may exist, out of

5777-465: The best preserved single individual of Camarasaurus at the time, and it was named as a new species of Apatosaurus in 1877. The specimen was not fully collected until 1879 and the specimen contains the majority of a juvenile's skeleton (holotype YPM 1901) Meanwhile, crews working for Edward Cope in Garden Park, collected a fragmentary specimen consisting of a femur and 2 caudal vertebrae was made

5886-431: The cervical vertebrae. Most identifiable specimens of Camarasaurus belong to one of two species, C. grandis and C. lentus ; C. lewisi and C. supremus are rarer. Camarasaurus is among the most common and frequently well-preserved sauropod dinosaurs uncovered and has been well described in numerous publications. Similar to other Macronarians, it had the typical large naris, long forelimbs, and short tail compared to

5995-466: The conflict. The Morrison Formation records an environment and time dominated by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs such as Maraapunisaurus , Amphicoelias , Barosaurus , Diplodocus , Apatosaurus , Brontosaurus , and Brachiosaurus . Dinosaurs living alongside Camarasaurus included the herbivorous ornithischians Camptosaurus , Gargoyleosaurus , Dryosaurus , Stegosaurus , and Nanosaurus . Predators in this paleoenvironment included

6104-466: The contemporary Diplodocids. Camarasaurus was a medium-sized sauropod compared to contemporary species in the same formation, but in the Tithonian reached large sizes with C. supremus . The maximum size of the most common species, C. lentus , was about 15 m (49 ft) in length. The largest species, C. supremus , reached a maximum length of 18 meters (59 ft) - 23 m (75 ft) and,

6213-599: The country, visiting museums to inform the planning of the Yale Museum. In 1868, he visited Cope; since their meeting, they had expressed warm wishes in letters to each other and even named species after each other. Cope took Marsh on a tour of the marl pits in New Jersey where he was finding fossils; unbeknownst to Cope, Marsh would later pay the pit operators to divert their finds to him instead of Cope. Marsh later noted that Cope's reconstruction of his newest find,

6322-480: The eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains , is home to a fossil-rich stretch of Late Jurassic rock. A large number of dinosaur species can be found here, including relatives of Camarasaurus such as Diplodocus , Apatosaurus , and Brachiosaurus , but camarasaurs are the most abundant of the dinosaurs in the formation. Camarasaurus fossils have been found in almost every major locality and have one of

6431-544: The enamel covering the teeth of various Jurassic sauropods, including Camarasaurus . Temperatures of 32.4–36.9 °C (90.3–98.4 °F) were obtained, which is comparable to that of modern mammals. Camarasaurus grew in size quickly to limit the time it would be vulnerable to predation. This would imply it had a relatively high metabolic rate as a juvenile. A Camarasaurus pelvis recovered from Dinosaur National Monument in Utah shows gouging attributed to Allosaurus and on

6540-403: The end of collecting in Garden Park, at least four individuals and several hundred bones had been found from nearly every part of the skeleton. The next Camarasaurus discovery came later in 1877, when a fragmentary posterior skull and a partial postcranial skeleton was discovered and collected in Quarry 1, Como Bluff , Wyoming by crews working for Othniel Charles Marsh . This skeleton would be

6649-403: The field of paleontology. Among his legacies are the discovery or description of dozens of new species and theories on the origins of birds. Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education thanks to the generosity of his wealthy uncle George Peabody . After graduating from Yale College in 1860 he travelled the world, studying anatomy , mineralogy and geology . He obtained

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6758-410: The five Morosaurus species named by Marsh, only three were valid. Morosaurus grandis , Morosaurus lentus , and Morosaurus agilis (now known as Smitanosaurus ) were accepted as valid, with Morosaurus impar synonymous with M. grandis . Possible synonymy between Morosaurus and Camarasaurus was also suggested by Riggs. In 1905, the first mounted skeleton of a sauropod was mounted at the AMNH of

6867-446: The form "author, year" in zoology, and "standard abbreviated author name" in botany. Thus in the examples above, the genus Canis would be cited in full as " Canis Linnaeus, 1758" (zoological usage), while Hibiscus , also first established by Linnaeus but in 1753, is simply " Hibiscus L." (botanical usage). Each genus should have a designated type , although in practice there is a backlog of older names without one. In zoology, this

6976-737: The generic name (or its abbreviated form) still forms the leading portion of the scientific name, for example, Canis lupus lupus for the Eurasian wolf subspecies, or as a botanical example, Hibiscus arnottianus ssp. immaculatus . Also, as visible in the above examples, the Latinised portions of the scientific names of genera and their included species (and infraspecies, where applicable) are, by convention, written in italics . The scientific names of virus species are descriptive, not binomial in form, and may or may not incorporate an indication of their containing genus; for example,

7085-597: The genus, with the New Mexican remains from the Summerville Formation . The northernmost specimen of Camarasaurus was discovered in 2005 in the Snowy Mountains region of central Montana and consists of a nearly complete skull and several postcranial elements. Camarasaurus fossils are very common. Over 500 specimens are known, including many isolated bones and about 50 partial skeletons. It

7194-587: The gracile skulls that Diplodocids that are also found in the Morrison Formation. The 19-cm-long (7.5-in) teeth were shaped like chisels (spatulate) and arranged evenly along the jaw. The strength of the teeth indicates that Camarasaurus probably ate coarser plant material than the slender-toothed diplodocids . A specimen of Camarasaurus called SMA 0002 (which has also been assigned to Cathetosaurus ) from Wyoming's Howe-Stephens Quarry, referred to as "E.T.", shows evidence of soft tissue. Along

7303-483: The greatest known distributions of Morrison dinosaurs, with fossils found in localities from New Mexico to Montana and Utah to Oklahoma. According to radiometric dating , the Morrison sedimentary layers range between 156.3 million years ago (Mya) at the base, to 146.8 Mya at the top, which places it in the late Oxfordian , Kimmeridgian , and early Tithonian stages of the Late Jurassic period. Its environment

7412-508: The ilium of the C. lewisi holotype there are large Theropod bite marks. In 1992, a partial C. grandis skeleton was discovered at the Bryan Small Stegosaurus Quarry of the Morrison Formation near Canon City, Colorado . This specimen preserved a partial right humerus cataloged as DMNH 2908 and associated vertebrae from the back and tail. In 2001, Lorie McWhinney, Kenneth Carpenter, and Bruce Rothschild published

7521-432: The jaw line, ossified remains of what appear to have been the animal's gums have been recovered, indicating that it had deep-set teeth covered by gums, with only the tips of the crowns protruding. The teeth were, upon death, pushed further out from their sockets as the gums retracted, dried, and tightened through decay. The examinations of the specimen also indicate that the teeth were covered by tough outer scales and possibly

7630-633: The largest component, with 23,236 ± 5,379 accepted genus names, of which 20,845 ± 4,494 are angiosperms (superclass Angiospermae). By comparison, the 2018 annual edition of the Catalogue of Life (estimated >90% complete, for extant species in the main) contains currently 175,363 "accepted" genus names for 1,744,204 living and 59,284 extinct species, also including genus names only (no species) for some groups. The number of species in genera varies considerably among taxonomic groups. For instance, among (non-avian) reptiles , which have about 1180 genera,

7739-545: The lizard genus Anolis has been suggested to be broken down into 8 or so different genera which would bring its ~400 species to smaller, more manageable subsets. Othniel Charles Marsh Othniel Charles Marsh (October 29, 1831 – March 18, 1899) was an American professor of Paleontology in Yale College and President of the National Academy of Sciences . He was one of the preeminent scientists in

7848-550: The many fossil animals of N. America has afforded the best support to the theory of evolution, which has appeared within the last 20 years" (since Darwin's publication of Origin of Species). Between 1883 and 1895, Marsh was President of the National Academy of Sciences . The pinnacle of Marsh's work with dinosaurs came in 1896 with the publication of his two quartos, Dinosaurs of North America and Vertebrate Fossils, which demonstrated his unsurpassed knowledge of

7957-403: The most (>300) have only 1 species, ~360 have between 2 and 4 species, 260 have 5–10 species, ~200 have 11–50 species, and only 27 genera have more than 50 species. However, some insect genera such as the bee genera Lasioglossum and Andrena have over 1000 species each. The largest flowering plant genus, Astragalus , contains over 3,000 species. Which species are assigned to a genus

8066-428: The name could not be used for both. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published the replacement name Ornithorhynchus in 1800. However, a genus in one kingdom is allowed to bear a scientific name that is in use as a generic name (or the name of a taxon in another rank) in a kingdom that is governed by a different nomenclature code. Names with the same form but applying to different taxa are called "homonyms". Although this

8175-464: The new Morosaurus material led to new reconstructions of sauropod manus and pes structure. The AMNH made an important discovery in 1899 at their Bone Cabin Quarry in Wyoming with the discovery of the first complete Camarasaurus skull and mandible with associated cervical vertebrae. Major reassessment of Morosaurus and Camarasaurus came in 1901, a reassessment by Elmer Riggs concluded that of

8284-407: The original bones, Cope employed collectors who gathered more of the material which was described in 1921 by Henry Osborn and Charles Mook. The amount of material was great, it composed of several jumbled partial skeletons. It was not all prepared at once, but a considerable amount of it was cleaned up by Jacob Geismar under Cope's direction throughout the 1870s to 1890s. In 1877 a reconstruction of

8393-501: The original core of the collection of Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History . The museum's Great Hall is dominated by the first fossil skeleton of Brontosaurus that he discovered, which was reclassified as Apatosaurus for a time. However, an extensive study published in 2015 concluded that Brontosaurus was a valid genus of sauropod distinct from Apatosaurus . Some other Marsh taxa like Camarasaurus lentus , Nanosaurus agilis , and Camptosaurus dispar are also represented in

8502-472: The other students, he was nicknamed "Daddy" by his peers. He was initially an unremarkable student, devoting much of his time to leisure and games, but the next year decided to focus on his studies. "I changed my mind," he later told a biographer, "during an afternoon spent on Dracut Heights [Lowell]. I resolved that I would return to Andover, take hold, and really study." Marsh applied himself to his studies and graduated valedictorian of his class in 1856. In

8611-559: The period has been revealed by fossils of green algae , fungi , mosses , horsetails , cycads , ginkgoes , and several families of conifers . Vegetation varied from river-lining forests of tree ferns , and ferns ( gallery forests ), to fern savannas with occasional trees such as the Araucaria -like conifer Brachyphyllum . [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Genus The composition of

8720-451: The periostitis was inactive or healed. McWhinney and the other researchers argued that this injury would have been a continuous source of hardship for the animal. It would have exerted pressure on the muscles. This pressure would have compressed the muscles' blood vessels and nerves, reducing the range of motion of both the limb's flexor and extensor muscles . This effect would have hindered the M. brachialis , m. brachoradialis , and to

8829-541: The provisions of the ICZN Code, e.g., incorrect original or subsequent spellings, names published only in a thesis, and generic names published after 1930 with no type species indicated. According to "Glossary" section of the zoological Code, suppressed names (per published "Opinions" of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature) remain available but cannot be used as the valid name for

8938-486: The same environment without competing. Long-bone histology enables researchers to estimate the age that a specific individual reached. A study by Griebeler et al. (2013) examined long-bone histological data and concluded that the Camarasaurus sp. CM 36664 weighed 14,247 kilograms (15.7 short tons), reached sexual maturity at 20 years and died at age 26. Eagle et al. performed clumped isotope thermometry on

9047-470: The same kind as other (analogous) genera. The term "genus" comes from Latin genus , a noun form cognate with gignere ('to bear; to give birth to'). The Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus popularized its use in his 1753 Species Plantarum , but the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) is considered "the founder of the modern concept of genera". The scientific name (or

9156-408: The scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name ; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature , the system of naming organisms , where it is combined with the scientific name of a species : see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology) . The rules for the scientific names of organisms are laid down in

9265-617: The skeleton of Camarasaurus was painted by Dr. John Ryder on several canvasses, under the direction of Professor Cope who would use them in lectures to impress his audience. This reconstruction would be the first ever made of a sauropod dinosaur, was natural size and represented the remains of a number of individuals. The reconstruction was over fifty feet in length. Cope's collectors sent in more material from 1877 to 1878, and as Cope would get more material, he would name taxa based on these newly sent remains. Most of these additional taxa are now considered dubious or synonymous with Camarasaurus . By

9374-430: The skeleton was mounted in a death pose in the fossil hall. The USNM's Camarasaurus was also referred to C. lentus . In 1919, W. J. Holland would name Uintasaurus douglassi based another sauropod specimen from DNM that was discovered by the Carnegie Museum in 1909. The type specimen was incomplete, consisting of 5 anterior cervical vertebrae, and is a synonym of Camarasaurus lentus . Additional Camarasaurus material

9483-497: The specific name particular to the wolf. A botanical example would be Hibiscus arnottianus , a particular species of the genus Hibiscus native to Hawaii. The specific name is written in lower-case and may be followed by subspecies names in zoology or a variety of infraspecific names in botany . When the generic name is already known from context, it may be shortened to its initial letter, for example, C. lupus in place of Canis lupus . Where species are further subdivided,

9592-422: The specimen and it was collected from 1909 to 1910 by Carnegie Museum crew working at Dinosaur National Monument . This skeleton was not described until 1925 by Charles W. Gilmore This specimen was referred to Camarasaurus lentus . The skeleton is one of the best sauropod specimens known, with almost every element preserved in articulation including the fragile cervical vertebrae. Another Camarasaurus skeleton

9701-408: The spinal anatomy of the two species. At a later stage, C. grandis disappeared from the rock record, leaving only C. lentus . Then C. lentus , too, disappeared; at the same time, C. supremus appeared in the uppermost layers. This immediate succession of species, as well as the very close similarity between the two, suggests that C. supremus may have evolved directly from C. lentus , representing

9810-412: The standard format for a species name comprises the generic name, indicating the genus to which the species belongs, followed by the specific epithet, which (within that genus) is unique to the species. For example, the gray wolf 's scientific name is Canis lupus , with Canis ( Latin for 'dog') being the generic name shared by the wolf's close relatives and lupus (Latin for 'wolf') being

9919-602: The subject. On December 13, 1897, Marsh received the Cuvier Prize of 1,500 francs from the French Academy of Science . According to Peter Dodson , Cope and Marsh "[have] left a legacy, and each was a distinguished researcher. But really it seems impossible to say one name without the other. Cope and Marsh." Marsh's names for three dinosaur groups, and nineteen genera, have survived, and though only three of Cope's named genera are still in use, he published

10028-597: The summers off of school, he prospected for minerals in New York, Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia. Upon gradation, Marsh decided to attend Yale, rather than Harvard, where many of his relatives had attended. He ran his letter to George Peabody asking for the funds by Aunt Judith first, who disapprovingly noted it contained two spelling errors. Peabody agreed to cover Marsh's expenses and give him an allowance for spending money, and Marsh moved to New Haven in September. Marsh

10137-403: The taxon is termed a synonym ; some authors also include unavailable names in lists of synonyms as well as available names, such as misspellings, names previously published without fulfilling all of the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural code, and rejected or suppressed names. A particular genus name may have zero to many synonyms, the latter case generally if the genus has been known for

10246-484: The taxon's namesake, three dorsal vertebrae, and four caudal vertebrae. This specimen is now thought to have been composed of several individuals. From these initial fragmentary remains, Cope made his original description of Camarasaurus supremus (“supreme chambered lizard”) and founded the genus; these remains are now in the American Museum of Natural History under the catalogue number AMNH 560. After receiving

10355-538: The three species, and it describes an evolutionary progression within the Morrison Formation. C. grandis is the oldest species and occurred in the lowest rock layers of the Morrison. C. lewisi only briefly coexisted with C. grandis in the lowest strata of the upper Morrison until going extinct, but it is possible this is because of a lack of specimens from C. lewisi . C. lentus appeared later, co-existing with C. grandis for several million years, possibly due to different ecological niches as suggested by differences in

10464-491: The two had a contentious relationship. Othniel much preferred excursions in the woods to his chores. Among his childhood influences was Ezekiel Jewett, a former military officer and amateur scientist who influenced Othniel's interest in the sciences. Jewett had been drawn to the area by the fossils unearthed by the enlargement of the Erie Canal , and the two would hunt and prospect for specimens together. By 1847, Othniel

10573-625: The type species, or reclassified. In 1889, a new species of Morosaurus was named based on a partial skull and skeleton from Como Bluff. Morosaurus lentus was the name given to the skeleton (holotype YPM 1910) and the skeleton was mounted in the Yale Peabody Museum fossil hall in 1930. In the late 1890s, the American Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum found additional Morosaurus material at Como Bluff and Fruita respectively. Mostly consisting of limb material,

10682-576: The values quoted are the mean of "accepted" names alone (all "uncertain" names treated as unaccepted) and "accepted + uncertain" names (all "uncertain" names treated as accepted), with the associated range of uncertainty indicating these two extremes. Within Animalia, the largest phylum is Arthropoda , with 151,697 ± 33,160 accepted genus names, of which 114,387 ± 27,654 are insects (class Insecta). Within Plantae, Tracheophyta (vascular plants) make up

10791-429: The virus species " Salmonid herpesvirus 1 ", " Salmonid herpesvirus 2 " and " Salmonid herpesvirus 3 " are all within the genus Salmonivirus ; however, the genus to which the species with the formal names " Everglades virus " and " Ross River virus " are assigned is Alphavirus . As with scientific names at other ranks, in all groups other than viruses, names of genera may be cited with their authorities, typically in

10900-519: Was a good student, but not a thrifty one; Aunt Judith, who was in charge of monitoring Marsh while Peabody was in Europe, regularly upbraided her nephew for his lax accounting habits and large expenses. Marsh graduated eighth in his class, using a scholarship he won for the best examination in Greek to finance a masters degree from Yale's Sheffield Scientific School , as he developed an interest in becoming

11009-496: Was able to keep discovery teams in the field almost continuously from 1870 until his death. The material recovered in his 30 years of collection was simply astonishing to the scientific community. At the Peabody Museum, Marsh was the first to create skeletal displays of dinosaurs, which are now common in countless museums of natural history. Marsh biographer Mark J. McCarren summed it up this way, Marsh's "contributions to

11118-521: Was actually its own genus based on a specimen found at Howe Quarry in 1992 that they referred to the species. Further research by Tschopp concluded that the Howe Quarry specimen was most likely to represent Camarasaurus after all. As of 2019, most researchers considered C. lewisi to be a species of Camarasaurus . In 1992, another substantial and articulated skeleton of Camarasaurus was collected, this skeleton by Jeffrie Parker and colleagues near

11227-660: Was attending school at the Wilson Collegiate Institute , and later attended the Lockport Union School. Othniel was undecided as to what he would do for a living, but the course of his future was dramatically changed due to the intervention of his uncle George Peabody , who was a successful banker. With Peabody's financial assistance (spurred by Marsh's aunt, Judith), Marsh enrolled in Phillips Academy in 1851. Older than most of

11336-581: Was deposited at Brigham Young University under specimen number BYU 9740. The skeleton wasn't full prepared until years later, and was described in 1988 as a new genus and species of Camarasaurid , Cathetosaurus lewisi . C. lewisi ' s original description was brief, but later in 1996 the skeleton was given a full osteology and placed as a species of Camarasaurus by John McIntosh and colleagues. In their paper, they determined that C. supremus, C. grandis, C. lentus, and C. lewisi were valid. In 2013, Octavio Mateus and Emanuel Tschopp argued that C. lewisi

11445-436: Was found at near Black Mesa in western Oklahoma during the 1940s and has been referred to Camarasaurus supremus , the material consists of many large vertebrae and some skull elements. No major discoveries would come for Camarasaurus until in 1967, James Jensen collected a well preserved and articulated partial postcranial skeleton, including majority of the vertebral column, at Uncompahgre Hill in western Colorado and

11554-657: Was found in 1918, again at Dinosaur National Monument by Carnegie crews, this specimen can be viewed at the National Museum of Natural History . The specimen, known as USNM V 13786, was traded to the USNM in 1935 and prep work started on the specimen in 1936 at the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas where it could be viewed by visitors of the event. Preparation work would continue until 1947 when

11663-435: Was found of stress fracture or infectious processes like osteomyelitis or infectious periostitis. They also ruled out osteochondroma because the axis of the spur is 25° relative to the vertical axis of the humerus, whereas an osteochondroma would have formed at 90° to the axis of the humerus. Other candidates identified by the scientists for the origin of the spur-bearing lesion included: The Morrison Formation, situated along

11772-427: Was nearly indistinguishable from C. lentus . C. supremus was not typical of the genus as a whole, and is known only from the latest, uppermost parts of the formation and is extremely uncommon. Both C. grandis, C. lentus, and C. lewisi were smaller, as well as occurring in the earlier stages of the Morrison. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that chronological sequence aligned with the physical differences between

11881-467: Was subsequently shown to be synonymous with Camarasaurus . The first record of Camarasaurus comes from the spring of 1877 when Mr. Oramel William Lucas of Cañon City , Colorado discovered some large vertebrae at Garden Park , which he sent to Edward Drinker Cope who was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . The original material sent consisted of a partial cervical vertebra, which would become

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