Haplocanthosaurus
Haplocanthosaurus was a long-necked plant-eater that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic. It was one of the smallest sauropods of its time, but still as long as a bus and as heavy as two elephants!2
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Fun facts
Haplocanthosaurus is one of the smallest sauropods from the Morrison Formation, reaching only about 14.8 meters (49 feet) long.2
Only four definite skeletons are known, and the skull has never been found. The head in museum mounts is a replica based on other sauropods.21
The species H. delfsi was named after a college student, Edwin Delfs, who discovered the skeleton in Colorado.2
Its name was almost Haplocanthus, but scientists later changed it to Haplocanthosaurus because the first name was already used for a fish.2
Fossils of Haplocanthosaurus have been found in four US states: Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming.3
It lived alongside other famous dinosaurs like Allosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Stegosaurus.2
Most asked questions about Haplocanthosaurus
?How big was Haplocanthosaurus?
It was about 14.8 metres (49 feet) long and weighed around 12.8 metric tons (14.1 short tons). That is about the length of a large bus and as heavy as two elephants.2
?What did Haplocanthosaurus eat?
It was a plant-eater, or herbivore. It ate plants like ferns and cycads.1
?When did Haplocanthosaurus live?
It lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 155 to 152 million years ago.2
?Where was Haplocanthosaurus found?
Fossils have been found in the United States, in Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Haplocanthosaurus
- Named by
- Hatcher 19034
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Diplodocoidea4
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Diplodocoidea4
- Age of the rocks
- 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)4
- Rock formations
- Morrison4
- Countries
- USA4
- Fossil records
- 11 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Also known as
- Haplocanthus (older names now counted as the same animal)4
- Discovery
- John Bell Hatcher named Haplocanthosaurus in 1903 based on fossils from Colorado. The species H. delfsi was described later in 1988 by Jack McIntosh and Michael Williams.2
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how Haplocanthosaurus is related to other sauropods. Some think it belongs in its own family, Haplocanthosauridae.2
Where the facts come from
- Haplocanthosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Haplocanthosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Census of currently known specimens of the Late Jurassic sauropod Haplocanthosaurus from the Morrison Formation, USA | Geology of the Intermountain West (giw.utahgeology.org)
- Haplocanthosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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