Open Paleo

Ardetosaurus

van der Linden et al., 2024 ar-DEE-toh-SAWR-us

From Latin 'ardērē' meaning 'to burn' and Ancient Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard', referring to the holotype specimen's burn damage from the 2003 Dinosaurier Freilichtmuseum fire.

154.8–149.2 million years ago Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Ardetosaurus is an extinct genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaurs from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Morrison Formation of northern Wyoming, United States. The genus contains a single species, Ardetosaurus viator. It was first described in 2024 on the basis of a partial articulated skeleton, including vertebrae from the neck, back, and tail, hip bones, and part of the left hindlimb. The genus is a member of the Diplodocinae, a subfamily of large long-necked dinosaurs with whip-like tails. Ardetosaurus represents one of many distinct sauropod taxa that coexisted in this formation.

Diagnosis

  1. Paired accessory laminae in spinoprezygapophyseal fossae of posterior cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae
  2. Anteroventrally bifurcating anterior centrodiapophyseal laminae in anterior dorsal vertebrae
  3. Centropostzygapophyseal lamina fossae present in second dorsal vertebra
  4. Vertebral height/centrum length ratio of <2.5 in posterior dorsal vertebrae
  5. Reduced or absent centroprezygapophyseal laminae in anterior-most caudal vertebrae

Species

Ardetosaurus viator van der Linden et al., 2024

Type species

From Latin 'viator' meaning 'traveler', referring to the long journey the holotype specimen underwent across Europe before arriving in the Netherlands.

Holotype
MAB011899 (formerly SMA 0013) , Oertijdmuseum
Material
Two cervical vertebrae, 10 dorsal vertebrae, sacrum, five caudal vertebrae, eight dorsal ribs, two chevrons, left coracoid, left ilium, both pubes, both ischia, left femur, left tibia, partial left fibula
Horizon
Morrison Formation, Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–149.2 million years ago
Locality
Howe-Stephens Quarry, Wyoming, United States

References

  1. van der Linden, T. T. P.; Tschopp, E.; Sookias, R. B.; Wallaard, J. J. W.; Holwerda, F. M.; Schulp, A. S. (2024). A new diplodocine sauropod from the Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica. Coquina Press. doi:10.26879/1380 vanderlinden2024a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates, and the appearance features.

    jones2026b