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long-neck giant · Doubtful name
Marmarospondylus
Say it like this: “mar-MAR-o-SPON-dih-lus”
Marmarospondylus robustus
Marmarospondylus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) · roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago
- Named in
- 1874 · Owen, R.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United Kingdom · Forest Marble
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Macronaria
The story in short
Marmarospondylus was formally named in 1874 by R. Owen. The name means “marble vertebra.”
Fossils referred to Marmarospondylus date to the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian), roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Forest Marble Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
The fossils of Marmarospondylus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
On the family tree it sits in Macronaria, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Abrosaurus
Abrosaurus dongpoi
Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian) · roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago
Aragosaurus
Aragosaurus ischiaticus
Late Jurassic · Early Cretaceous (Tithonian · Berriasian) · roughly 149.2 to 137.1 million years ago
Astrodon
Astrodon johnstoni
Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago