Ultrasaurus
| Ultrasaurus Temporal range:Early Cretaceous,
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|---|---|
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Genus: | †Ultrasaurus Kim,1983[1] |
| Species: | †U. tabriensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Ultrasaurus tabriensis Kim, 1983[1]
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| Synonyms | |
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Ultrasaurus(meaning "ultralizard "[2]) is agenusofsauropoddinosaur discovered by Haang Mook Kim in South Korea. However, the name was first used unofficially (as anomen nudum) in 1979 by Jim Jensen to describe a set of giantdinosaurbones he discovered in the United States. Because Kim published the name for his specimen before Jensen could do so officially, Jensen renamed his specimenUltrasauros.Jensen's giant sauropod was later found to be achimera,and thetyperemains are now assigned toSupersaurus.
Mistaken assessments
[edit]A collection of bones discovered byJim Jensen,ofBrigham Young University,at theDry Mesa Quarry,Coloradowere originally believed to belong to the largest dinosaur ever. Jensen informally called this supposedly new dinosaur "Ultrasaurus", and this name was widely used by the press and in scientific literature as anomen nudum(informal name lacking an actual scientific description).
In 1983,Kim Hang-mookpublished a paper describing a different specimen representing a new dinosaur species, which he namedUltrasaurus tabriensis,because he believed it was bigger thanSupersaurus.However, Kim's assessment was incorrect. His dinosaur was much smaller than he believed, because he mistook a partialhumerusfor anulna.However, since Kim was the first to publish the nameUltrasaurus,the name officially applied to the smallSouth Koreansauropod, and could no longer be used as an official name for Jensen's giant specimen.
Jensen published a paper describing his original discovery in 1985, but since the nameUltrasauruswas already in use (or "preoccupied" ), his discovery was renamed in 1991 toUltrasauros.However, Jensen also made a mistake. His discovery was a chimera; the collection offossilscame from two different dinosaur species, both of which already had names. So his new name,Ultrasauros,is now just an alternate name (junior synonym) for the dinosaur officially known asSupersaurus,because the holotype of theUltrasaurosb
Description
[edit]Ultrasauruslived 100 to 110million years ago,during theAptianandAlbianstagesof theEarly Cretaceous.It is known from the holotypeDGBU-1973,which consists of part of an upper forearm (humerus), andDGBU-1978-A,a single tailbone (vertebrae) from theGugyedong Formation,belonging to theHayang Group.[1]
Classification
[edit]Kim'sUltrasaurusis currently anomen dubium.Not enough is known about the specimen to formally assign it to a specificfamilyof sauropods.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abcdKim, Haang-mook (1983)."Cretaceous dinosaurs from South Korea".Journal of the Geological Society of Korea(in Korean).19(3): 115–126.
- ^"Ultrasaurus".Paleofile.Archived fromthe originalon October 31, 2021.
