Dinosaurs A to Z
Dinosauria

Dystrophaeus viaemalae

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Dystrophaeus 13 m (43 ft) long
as long as 8 people standing fingertip to fingertip
Length
13 m (43 ft)
Period
Late Jurassic (158 Mya)
Place
Utah, USA
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.

Dystrophaeus is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur. Its type and only species is Dystrophaeus viaemalae, named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877. Its fossils were found in the Tidwell Member of the Morrison Formation of Utah. Due to the fragmentary condition of its only known specimen, the affinities of Dystrophaeus are uncertain, although excavations carried out at the discovery site since 1989 have uncovered more of the original specimen and hold the potential for an improved understanding of the taxon.

Dystrophaeus viaemalae is known from a single fragmentary specimen, the holotype USNM 2364. The specimen initially consisted of a partial dorsal vertebra, a partial scapula, a nearly complete ulna, a partial radius, and three metacarpals.

What we know

  • Named by Cope, 1877.
  • Body length estimated at about 13 m.
  • Fossils found in Utah, USA.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Dystrophaeus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.