Re: Suuwassea Press Release

["Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Dan Varner wrote:

> "Suuwassea is the first unequivocal new sauropod from the Morrison 
> Formation
> a 150-million-year-old geological formation extending from New Mexico to
> Montana in more than a century." <snip>
>
>        Seismosaurus gets no respect. It's the Rodney Dangerfield of
> sauropods.

:-)

Lucas and Heckert (2000) sunk _Seismosaurus hallorum_ into the genus 
_Diplodocus_, based on a personal communication from Brian Curtice to one of 
the authors.  Although the new combination _Diplodocus hallorum_ appears in 
the article, no published study AFAIK has provided the rationale for 
synonymizing _Seismosaurus_ with _Diplodocus_.

As for other Morrison sauropods named in the past century...

Jensen's _Ultrasaurus macintoshi_ (certainly) and _Dystylosaurus edwini_ 
(probably) are referable to _Supersaurus_, as determined by the work of 
Brian Curtice.

No published studies have yet sunk _Supersaurus_ into any other Morrison 
taxon (e.g.,  _Barosaurus_).

Another of Jensen's Morrison genera, _Cathetosaurus_, was assigned to the 
genus _Camarasaurus_ as _C. lewisi_.  I'm not sure I agree with this.  _C. 
lewisi_ shares with titanosauriforms the anterodorsal rotation of the ilium, 
and so _C. lewisi_ may be more derived than true _Camarasaurus_.

Bakker's _Eobrontosaurus_ was erected for _Apatosaurus yahnahpin_, which has 
a pectoral girdle very different to (other) _Apatosaurus_ species.  We'll 
have to see if the genus _Eobrontosaurus_ stands the test of time, or will 
be put back into _Apatosaurus_.

_Haplocanthosaurus delfsi_ was named in 1988; but I think the above quote 
was refering to new sauropod genera.  In any case, many phylogenies show 
_Haplocanthosaurus_ to be paraphyletic, thereby warranting a new genus for 
_delfsi_.



Tim

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