Callawayasaurus

 ( Elasmosauridae ) 

Callawayasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the family Elasmosauridae. When the holotype was first described by Samuel Paul Welles in 1962,S. P. Welles. (1962). A new species of elasmosaur from the Aptian of Colombia and a review of the Cretaceous plesiosaurs. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 44(1):1-96 it was described as Alzadasaurus colombiensis before being moved into its current genus by Kenneth Carpenter in 1999.Carpenter, K. 1999. "Revision of North American elasmosaurs from the Cretaceous of the Western Interior". Paludicola 2(2):148-173.

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History 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." The familiar suffix, -saurus comes from the Greek sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard" or "reptile".

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Description

Callawayasaurus was a large plesiosaur, with a skull length of and body length of . The Nostril of Callawayasaurus are elongated and positioned over the maxilla, which has 3-5 teeth. The neck contains 56 vertebrae which are relatively short compared to other elasmosaurids. Callawayasaurus fossils have no ; in common with other plesiosaurs such as Terminonatator. They also lack postaxial accessory facets.Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Anthony P. Russell., "A new Elasmosaurid Plesiosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the lower Cretaceous Clearwater Formation, Northeastern Alberta, Canada". Vertebrate Morphology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary

Another nearly complete skeleton was found to be slightly more robust than the holotype specimen. This subtle change may indicate sexual dimorphism.

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Paleoenvironment

The first Callawayasaurus remains were found in the Paja Formation near Leiva, Boyaca Colombia. The specific name for the type, " columbiensis", means "from Colombia". Callawayasaurus are known from the Aptian faunal stage of the early Cretaceous period, which extended from 125 to 112 million years ago.

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See also

• List of plesiosaur genera
• Timeline of plesiosaur research

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External links

• Information on plesiosaurs, including images of a Callawayasaurus skull

Categories: Elasmosauridae, Early Cretaceous Plesiosaurs, Early Cretaceous Reptiles Of South America, Plesiosaurs Of South America, Cretaceous Colombia, Fossils Of Colombia, Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Paja Formation, Fossil Taxa Described In 1999, Taxa Named By Kenneth Carpenter, Sauropterygian Genera

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