Callawayasaurus Temporal range:
Early Cretaceous,
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Skull of Callawayasaurus colombiensis displayed in the Paleontological Museum of Villa de Leyva | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Superorder: | † Sauropterygia |
Order: | † Plesiosauria |
Family: | † Elasmosauridae |
Genus: | †
Callawayasaurus Carpenter, 1999 |
Species: | †C. colombiensis
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Binomial name | |
†Callawayasaurus colombiensis (
Wells, 1962 [originally
Alzadasaurus])
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Synonyms | |
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Callawayasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the family Elasmosauridae. When the holotype was first described by Samuel Paul Welles in 1962, [1] it was described as Alzadasaurus colombiensis before being moved into its current genus by Kenneth Carpenter in 1999. [2]
Callawayasaurus is named in honor of the paleontologist Jack M. Callaway, editor of Ancient Marine Reptiles who, as Carpenter put it, "in his brief career as a vertebrate paleontologist, did much to improve our understanding of marine reptiles." [2] The familiar suffix, -saurus comes from the Greek sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard" or "reptile." [3]
Callawayasaurus was a large plesiosaur, with a skull length of 35 centimetres (1 ft 2 in) and body length of 7.4–8 metres (24–26 ft). [4] [5] The nares of Callawayasaurus are elongated and positioned over the maxilla, which has 3-5 teeth. [3] The neck contains 56 vertebrae which are relatively short compared to other elasmosaurids. [3] Callawayasaurus fossils have no pectoral bars; in common with other plesiosaurs such as Terminonatator. They also lack postaxial accessory facets. [6]
Another nearly complete skeleton was found to be slightly more robust than the holotype specimen. This subtle change may indicate sexual dimorphism. [3]
The first Callawayasaurus remains were found in the Paja Formation near Leiva, Boyaca Colombia. [3] The specific name for the type, "columbiensis", means "from Colombia". [3] Callawayasaurus are known from the Aptian faunal stage of the early Cretaceous period, which extended from 125 to 112 million years ago. [7]