Ammosaurus
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? Ammosaurus Conservation status: Fossil
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| Ammosaurus solus Marsh, 1891 |
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Ammosaurus (AM-o-sawr-us) meaning "lizard of the sand", because it was found in sandstone ( Greek ammos = sand + sauros = lizard) has been identified by four incomplete skeletons found in United States and Canada regions. The first Ammosaurus skeleton was found in the late 1880s by a group of construction workers in the Connecticut Valley in the US, who were building a bridge at the time. The valley was once a swamp, on which Amosaurus would often search for food along its banks. Other fragmental skeletons have been found in Arizona and Nova Scotia.
When Othniel C. Marsh first identified Ammosaurus's remains, he confused them with those of another dinosaur, Anchisaurus. It was not until 1891 that he renamed the fossils as that of Ammosaurus. Ironically, some of the Anchisaurus remains were thought to be remains of prehistoric humans. Although no Ammosaurus skull has ever been found, enough fossil was found to determine that it was more closely related to Plateosaurus than Anchisaurus as previously thought.
Ammosaurus lived during the early Jurassic period, around 180 million years ago. It was a herbivore and could walk on both four or two feet, the latter undoubtedly allowing it to reach higher branches. It had large claws on its hands to allow it to strip bark from trees and saplings. Compared to the rest of its body, Ammosaurus had both a long tail & neck, suggesting that it would have walked on four legs for most of its life, only walking on two to defend itself or reach food. To defend itself, it would stand on its hind legs, slashing at its attacker with its large thumb claws on its fore legs.
Ammosaurus measured over 4.3 m (14 ft) long and stood about 1.8 m (6 ft) tall, although it would only be knee high if it was on all fours. Ammosaurus weighed around 290 kg (640 lb), mainly due to its large body. At its largest, it would grow to the size of a small car.