Callawayasaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles
title: "Callawayasaurus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["elasmosauridae", "early-cretaceous-plesiosaurs", "early-cretaceous-reptiles-of-south-america", "plesiosaurs-of-south-america", "cretaceous-colombia", "fossils-of-colombia", "altiplano-cundiboyacense", "paja-formation", "fossil-taxa-described-in-1999", "taxa-named-by-kenneth-carpenter", "sauropterygian-genera"] description: "Extinct genus of reptiles" topic_path: "general/elasmosauridae" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callawayasaurus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Extinct genus of reptiles ::
| name = Callawayasaurus | fossil_range = Early Cretaceous, | image = Callawayasaurus colombiensis.JPG | image_caption = Skull of Callawayasaurus colombiensis displayed in the Paleontological Museum of Villa de Leyva | genus = Callawayasaurus | parent_authority = Carpenter, 1999 | authority = (Wells, 1962 [originally Alzadasaurus]) | species = colombiensis |synonyms =
- Alzadasaurus colombiensis Wells, 1962
- Callawayosaurus lapsus calami
Callawayasaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the family Elasmosauridae. When the holotype was first described by Samuel Paul Welles in 1962, it was described as Alzadasaurus colombiensis before being moved into its current genus by Kenneth Carpenter in 1999.
History
Callawayasaurus is named in honor of the paleontologist Jack M. Callaway, editor of Ancient Marine Reptiles who, as Carpenter put it, "in his brief career as a vertebrate paleontologist, did much to improve our understanding of marine reptiles." The familiar suffix, -saurus comes from the Greek sauros (σαυρος), meaning "lizard" or "reptile".{{cite web |url=http://www.ppne.co.uk/index.php?m=show&id=12604 |title=ppne.co.uk entry on Callawayasaurus |access-date=2008-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728102202/http://www.ppne.co.uk/index.php?m=show&id=12604 |archive-date=2011-07-28
Description
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Callawayasaurus_colombiensis.png" caption="[[Life restoration"] ::
Callawayasaurus was a large plesiosaur, with a skull length of 35 cm and body length of 7.4 -. The nares of Callawayasaurus are elongated and positioned over the maxilla, which has 3-5 teeth. The neck contains 56 vertebrae which are relatively short compared to other elasmosaurids.
Another nearly complete skeleton was found to be slightly more robust than the holotype specimen. This subtle change may indicate sexual dimorphism.
Paleoenvironment
The first Callawayasaurus remains were found in the Paja Formation near Leiva, Boyaca Colombia. The specific name for the type, "columbiensis", means "from Colombia". Callawayasaurus are known from the Aptian faunal stage of the early Cretaceous period, which extended from 125 to 112 million years ago.{{cite web |url=http://www.stratigraphy.org/geowhen/stages/Aptian.html |title=stratigraphy.org entry on Apitan stage |access-date=2008-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209174051/http://www.stratigraphy.org/geowhen/stages/Aptian.html |archive-date=2008-02-09 |url-status=dead
References
References
- S. P. Welles. (1962). A new species of elasmosaur from the Aptian of Colombia and a review of the Cretaceous plesiosaurs. ''University of California Publications in Geological Sciences'' 44(1):1-96
- Carpenter, K. 1999. "Revision of North American elasmosaurs from the Cretaceous of the Western Interior". ''Paludicola'' 2(2):148-173.
- (2019). "A new specimen of Platypterygius sachicarum (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia and its phylogenetic implications". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
- Karoll Valentina Yomayuza Herrera. (2019). "Desarrollo conceptual para un diorama representativo del Cretácico Inferior de la Formación Paja en la región del Alto Ricaurte". Tesis de grado Universidad de los Andes.
- ''Callawayasaurus'' [[fossils]] have no [[pectoral bar]]s; in common with other plesiosaurs such as ''[[Terminonatator]]''. They also lack postaxial accessory [[Zygapophysial joint. facets]].Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Anthony P. Russell., "A new Elasmosaurid Plesiosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the lower Cretaceous Clearwater Formation, Northeastern Alberta, Canada". Vertebrate Morphology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary
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