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Pronounced
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Op-low
SAW-russ |
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Probably
comes from the Greek 'hoplon', meaning armour or shield, Lizard |
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Length
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22
to 25 metres (72 to 82 ft) |
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Classification
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Sauropoda,
?Camarasauridae Cope, 1877
'Oplosaurus
armatus' Gervais, 1852
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Stratigraphy
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Wessex
Formation |
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Lifestyle
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A long-necked
sauropod dinosaur, Oplosaurus was a browser, eating tough
vegetation with its chisel-like teeth. It probably was only a visitor
when it died, as there was insufficient vegetation to support a
sauropod population.
(More info can be found at DinoWight
Palaeoecology)
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Locality
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Brighstone
Bay, which is quite vague, but is the best I can offer I'm afraid... |
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Description
of Material
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(Don't
understand all the terminology? visit the Glossary)
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The only
definitely identified specimen is a single tooth, most likely found
in the Wessex Formation at Brighstone
Bay. The crown of the tooth has a pointed apex and is labio-lingually
compressed with a slightly concave lingual surface, and the root
is cylindrical. There are likely to be some visible wear facets.The
tooth is very similar to that of Brachiosaurus, except the
vertical ridge on the labial side of the tooth is restricted to
the tip of the crown, although they have recently been assigned
to the Camarasauridae, and there are also those who think it is
of unknown affinity.
Material
is rare, so please report it if you find some...
How
do I know if I've found a bone?
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Further
Information.
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Oplosaurus
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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References
(not cited above)
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Naish
and Martill, 2001d
Naish et al, 2004
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