Open Paleo

Algoasaurus

Broom, 1904 al-GO-uh-SOR-us /ælˌɡoʊ.əˈsɔːrəs/

Named for Algoa Bay in South Africa, near where its remains were found, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'.

143.1–132.6 million years ago Berriasian–Valanginian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Algoasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian to early Valanginian ages) Upper Kirkwood Formation of Cape Province, South Africa, specifically near a town called Despatch. Only one species, A. bauri, is known.

Diagnosis

  1. Fourth trochanter of femur markedly smaller than in Brontosaurus, Diplodocus, or Morosaurus, suggesting less powerfully developed tail musculature
  2. Femur estimated ~500 mm complete length (approximately one-third the size of Diplodocus femur), measuring 120 mm across narrowest part
  3. Posterior dorsal vertebral spine with complicated arrangement of laminae similar to Diplodocus posterior dorsals
  4. Vertebral centra bearing the peculiar excavations (pleurocoels) seen in American diplodocid types
  5. Scapula lower half shape resembling Brontosaurus, with estimated greatest breadth ~200 mm when complete

Species

Algoasaurus bauri Broom, 1904

Type species

Named for Algoa Bay in South Africa, near where the holotype was discovered, and for the recently deceased American paleontologist George Baur.

Holotype
AMNH FR 5631 , American Museum of Natural History
Material
Fragmentary vertebrae (cervical, dorsal, caudal), femur, scapula, rib portions, ungual phalanx; recovered from clayey rock.
Horizon
Kirkwood Formation, Berriasian–Valanginian, Early Cretaceous , 143.1–132.6 million years ago
Locality
Port Elizabeth Brick and Tile Company quarry, Despatch, near Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, South Africa

References

  1. Broom, R. (1904). V. - On the Occurrence of an Opisthocœlian Dinosaur (Algoasaurus Bauri) in the Cretaceous Beds of South Africa. Geological Magazine 1(9): 445-447. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s0016756800123891 broom1904a
  2. McPhee, B. W.; Mannion, P. D.; de Klerk, W. J.; Choiniere, J. N. (2016). High diversity in the sauropod dinosaur fauna of the Lower Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation of South Africa: implications for the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition. Cretaceous Research 59: 228-248. Elsevier BV.

    Assigns the holotype to the Kirkwood Formation, which Broom (1904) names only as Cretaceous beds.

    mcphee2016b