| Smitanosaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Back of the skull and neck vertebrae | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Diplodocoidea |
| Family: | †Dicraeosauridae |
| Genus: | †Smitanosaurus Whitlock & Wilson, 2020 |
| Type species | |
| †Smitanosaurus agilis (Marsh, 1889) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Smitanosaurus (meaning "smith lizard") is a genus ofdicraeosauridsauropod dinosaur from theLate Jurassic ofColorado. The genus contains one species,S. agilis, originally assigned to the defunct genusMorosaurus.[1]
The speciesMorosaurus agilis was originally named byOthniel Charles Marsh in 1889 for a partial skull, proatlases, and three cervical vertebrae found in 1883 in theMorrison Formation of Colorado.[2] However, the genusMorosaurus was in 1907 reinterpreted as ajunior synonym ofCamarasaurus, and most of the species assigned to the former genus were reassigned to the latter.[3]M. agilis, on the other hand, was left defunct without a proper generic assignment.[4] Over time comparisons have been drawn withHaplocanthosaurus,Diplodocus andbrachiosaurids, but never with a phylogenetic analysis. Further preparation and analysis by Whitlock & Wilson, 2020, have since reinterpreted it as a dicraeosaurid, warranting the new genus nameSmitanosaurus. The new generic name means "smith lizard", from theOld Saxonsmitan, referring to J. August Smith, who excavated and sketched theholotypeUSNM 5384, as well as theSmithsonian Institution, where the remains are stored.[1]
Whitlock & Wilson's redescription marks the first timeS. agilis has been added to a phylogenetic analysis. They recovered it as a member of Dicraeosauridae, making it one of the ever-growing number of North American dicraeosaurids. Their cladogram is shown below:[1]
