Callawayasaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
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| Skull of Callawayasaurus colombiensis displayed in the Paleontological Museum of Villa de Leyva | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Superfamily: | †Plesiosauroidea |
| Family: | †Elasmosauridae |
| Genus: | †Callawayasaurus Carpenter, 1999 |
| Species: | †C. colombiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Callawayasaurus colombiensis (Wells, 1962 [originally Alzadasaurus]) | |
| Synonyms | |
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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."[2] The familiar suffix, -saurus comes from the Greek sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard" or "reptile".[3]
Description
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]
Paleoenvironment
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]
