Pleurocoelus
Pleurocoelus nanus
Pronounced:
Pler-o-See-lus
Diet:
Herbivore (Plant-Eater)
Name Means:
"Side Hollow"
Length:
31 feet (10 m)
Height:
unknown
Weight:
unknown
Time:
Early Cretaceous - 115 mya
Fossil remains for this Dinosaur have been found in United States
Pleurocoelus
was a very small
member of the
same family that
included the
giant
Brachiosaurus
It was only as
big as one
school bus! It
was also among
the first
dinosaurs
discovered in
the U.S., way
back in 1886.
While most
dinosaurs back
then were found
in the West,
Pleurocoelus was
uncovered on
Maryland's East
Coast.
Apart from its small size,
Pleurocoelus seems to have been
a typical sauropod. Few
sauropods, however, have
generated so much disagreement
among scientists. Specimens
originally thought to belong to
this genus have variously been
ascribed to
Camarasaurus
Diplodocus and most recently
there has been discussion that
it may have been an early North
American titanosaur.
Additionally, there is a
famous trackway in Texas that is
believed to show a Pleurocoelus
being stalked by an
Acrocanthosaurus
Unfortunately this can't be
substantiated, however, as
scientists have yet to find any
Pleurocoelus fossil material in
Texas. To complicate matters
even, Pleurocoelus was named the
Texas State Fossil based on the
trackway. |
