Haplocanthosaurus priscus
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Haplocanthosaurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 155–152 Ma |
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| Mounted H. delfsi skeleton, Cleveland Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Neosauropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Diplodocoidea |
| Family: |
†Haplocanthosauridae Bonaparte, 1999 |
| Genus: |
†Haplocanthosaurus Hatcher, 1903 (conserved name) |
| Type species | |
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†Haplocanthosaurus priscus (Hatcher, 1903) (conserved name) |
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| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Haplocanthosaurus (meaning "simple spined lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur. Two species, H. delfsi and H. priscus, are known from incomplete fossil skeletons. It lived during the late Jurassic period (Kimmeridgian stage), 155 to 152 million years ago. The type species is H. priscus, and the referred species H. delfsi was discovered by a young college student named Edwin Delfs in Colorado, USA. Haplocanthosaurus specimens have been found in the very lowest layer of the Morrison Formation, along with Hesperosaurus, Brontosaurus yahnahpin, and Allosaurus jimmadensi.
Haplocanthosaurus was one of the smallest sauropods of the Morrison. While some Morrison sauropods could reach lengths of over 20 meters (or over 66 feet), Haplocanthosaurus was smaller, reaching a total length of 14.8 meters (49 feet) and an estimated weight of 12.8 metric tons.
There are four known specimens of Haplocanthosaurus: one of H. delfsi, and three of H. priscus. Of these, the type of H. delfsi is the only one complete enough to mount. The mounted specimen of H. delfsi now stands in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, albeit with a completely speculative replica skull, as the actual skull was not recovered. Present in stratigraphic zones 1, 2, and 4. If the specimen of "Morosaurus" agilis is included, Haplocanthosaurus is also known from fragments of a skull and cervicals 1-3. Recently described specimens from a different region of the Morrison Formation were assigned to Haplocanthosaurus in 2014. The study describing them noted that Haplocanthosaurus is known for certain from at least four specimens, assigned to H. priscus (CM 572), H. utterbacki (=H. priscus; CM 879), H. delfsi (CMNH 10380), and H. sp. (MWC 8028). Up to seven additional specimens have been assigned to Haplocanthosaurus? or Haplocanthosauridae indet.
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