Description of a new specimen of Haplocanthosaurus from the Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry

Abstract

A new specimen of Haplocanthosaurus is described based on bones excavated from the Late Jurassic Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry near Delta, Colorado. The specimen consists of seven dorsal vertebrae and a right tibia and is identified as Haplocanthosaurus based on the dorsally angled transverse processes, tall neural arch peduncles, low parapophyses relative to the diapophyses in the posterior dorsal vertebrae, and the robustness of the tibia combined with a greatly expanded distal articular surface. The discovery adds to our understanding of the biostratigraphy of Haplocanthosaurus, showing this genus is definitively present in the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, and making this individual the geologically youngest Haplocanthosaurus specimen on the Colorado Plateau. The identification of this genus adds to the known diversity of sauropods at Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry (DMDQ), which is at least six distinct genera, making DMDQ the most diverse single locality of sauropods in the Morrison Formation and the world.