#marshosaurus

Dinovember, day 15! Halfway done!

A haplocanthosaurus stuck in the mud made these two marshosaurus think they had an easy meal. They probably should have waited just a little longer 😬

I once again had some trouble finding any consistent references for both species in this page, so these are an approximation of several other renditions and may be wildly inaccurate. I'm not sure.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marshosaurus_restoration.jpg

Name: Marshosaurus bicentesimus 

Name Meaning: Marsh's Bicentennial Lizard

First Described: 1976

Described By: Madsen

Classification: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Megalosauroidea, Piatnitzkysauridae 

Marshosaurus was a medium sized theropod from the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic, about 157.3 to 152.1 million years ago. It was found in the Morrison Formation of Utah and also in Colorado, as it was possible it was found in the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry. It was a medium sized theropod, about 4.5 meters long. It was originally placed in many different theropod groups, including Avetheropoda. However, it was later found to be a megalosauroid, very similar to Megalosaurus. It probably died due to injuries in the rib and ilium. It lived in a shallow marine and semiarid environment, with distinct wet and dry seasons. It was absolutely full of dinosaurs, with basins of swampy lowlands and lakes, as well as floodplains. It lived alongside such famous dinosaurs as Camarasaurus, Barosaurus, Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Camptosaurus, Stegosaurus, Othnielosaurus, Saurophaganax, Torvosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Stokeosaurus, Ornitholestes, and Allosaurus. There were also many early mammals, many cycads and ginkgoes and conifers, as well as ferns. It was named in honor of famous palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, one of the lead palaeontologists of the great American Bone Wars. His other namesake, Othnielosaurus, might have been hunted by Marshosaurus. 

Sources:

http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/m/marshosaurus.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshosaurus