Supersaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Supersaurus (meaning "super lizard") is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. The type species, S. vivianae, was first discovered by Vivian Jones of Delta, Colorado, in the middle Morrison Formation of Colorado in 1972. The fossil remains came from the Brushy Basin Member of the formation, dating between 153 and 145 million years ago. It is among the longest dinosaurs ever discovered, with the three known specimens reaching 33–40 meters (108–131 ft) in length, with the largest individual possibly exceeding 40 meters (130 ft) in size. Mass estimates for the WDC and BYU specimens tend to be around 35–44 metric tons (39–49 short tons) in body mass. A potential second species, S. lourinhanensis (Dinheirosaurus), is known from Portugal and has been dated to a similar time.
Discovery
Supersaurus is present in stratigraphic zone 5 of the Morrison, dating from the Tithonian. The original fossil remains of Supersaurus were discovered in the Dry Mesa Quarry in 1972. This find yielded only a few bones: mainly the shoulder girdle, an ischium, and tail vertebrae. Paleontologist James A. Jensen described Supersaurus; he designated a scapulocoracoid BYU 9025 (originally labeled as BYU 5500) as the type specimen.
“Supersaurus” enters the record as genus of reptiles (fossil). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Supersaurus, genus and reptiles can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Supersaurus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Supersaurus, genus and reptiles provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q131177. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1972.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Supersaurus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.