Sauroposeidon was a very large Brachiosaurid from North America. It lived 112 million years ago, during either the Albian or Aptian stages of the early Cretaceous (both the Aptian and Albian stages may have included 112 mya in their time range). It is known from very few fossils, as it is only known from 4 cervical vertebrae (numbers 5-8). However, based of relatives such as Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan it is estimated to have had a maximum head height of 17m (56ft), to have obtained a length of 34m (112ft) and weighed an estimated 50-60t.Despite a media craze around its identification, and it being hailed as the largest Dinosaur ever. It is not the largest Dinosaur. While it is the tallest known Sauropod, Amphicoelias and Bruhathkayosaurus were both longer and heavier.
Environment[]
Sauroposeidon lived in a period of time when truly gigantic Sauropods were rare. However, it did live alongside a very large predatory Theropod, the 12m long Acrocanthosaurus. Acrocanthosaurus, being a highly brontophagus Carcharodontosaurid, would have been a danger to young and old Sauroposeidon alike. Sauroposeidon also had another Theropod for company, but at a mere 3m long, Deinonychus would only have been able to pick on hatchling Sauroposeidon.
Discovery[]
The vertebrae were discovered in rural Oklahoma, not far from the Texas border, in a claystone outcrop that dates the fossils to about 112 million years ago. This falls within the Early Cretaceous Period, specifically between the Aptian and Albian epochs.
The four neck vertebrae were discovered in 1994 at the Antlers Formation in Atoka County, Oklahoma by Dr. Richard Cifelli and a team from the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. Initially the fossils were believed to be simply too large to be the remains of an animal, and due to the state of preservation, believed to be tree trunks. In fact, they are the longest such bones known in dinosaurs.
Thus, the vertebrae were stored until 1999, when Dr. Cifelli gave them to a graduate student, Matt Wedel, to analyze as part of a project. Upon their realization of the find's significance, they issued a press release in October 1999, followed by official publication of their findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology in March 2000. The new species was dubbed S. proteles, and the holotype is OMNH 53062.