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The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Upper Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish gray, or red. Most of the fossils occur in the green siltstone beds and lower sandstones, relics of the rivers and floodplains of the Jurassic period. Fauna comparisons The fauna of Morrison Formation is similar to one in the coeval rocks of Tendaguru Beds (in Tanzania) and Lourinhã Formation in Portugal, mostly with the second. Some genera are shared in Morrison and Lourinhã, such as Torvosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus, and Allosaurus. In sum, Morrison Fm has 37 valid genera of dinosaurs. Ornithischians The herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs were diverse but not as common as sauropods in the Morrison. Fruitadens, previously known as the "Fruita Echinodon", was found to be a heterodontosaurid. Plate-backed stegosaurids included Hesperosaurus mjosi, Stegosaurus armatus, S. ungulatus, S. stenops, and Alcovasaurus longispinus. Armored dinosaurs that weren't stegosaurs were unknown in the formation until the 1990s. Two have been named: Gargoyleosaurus parkpinorum and Mymoorapelta maysi. Ornithopods, bipedal herbivores, came in several types. Small "hypsilophodonts" included Drinker nisti, Laosaurus celer, "L." gracilis, Nanosaurus agilis, Othnielia rex, and Othnielosaurus consors (all of which are now synonymous with Nanosaurus). Larger but similar-looking dryosaurids were represented by two species of Dryosaurus (D. altus and D. elderae) and the camptosaurid Uteodon aphanoecetes, which is currently known only from Dinosaur National Monument. Still larger was the more common Camptosaurus dispar. Dryosaurids and camptosaurids were early iguanodonts, a group that would later spawn the duck-billed dinosaurs. Neornithischians Thyreophorans Misc Sauropods Sauropods, the giant long-necked long-tailed four-legged herbivorous dinosaurs, are among the most common and famous Morrison fossils. A few have uncertain relationships, like "Apatosaurus" minimus (possibly a basal titanosauriform) and Haplocanthosaurus. Sauropods including Haplocanthosaurus priscus, H. delfsi, and the diplodocid Eobrontosaurus appeared in the early stages of the Morrison. The middle stages were dominated by familiar forms such as the Giraffe-like Brachiosaurus altithorax, which were uncommon, but related camarasaurids, like Camarasaurus supremus, C. grandis, C. lentus, and Cathetosaurus, were very common. Also common were long, low diplodocids, like Apatosaurus ajax, A. louisae, Brontosaurus excelsus, B. parvus, Barosaurus lentus, Diplodocus longus, D. carnegii, Galeamopus and Dyslocosaurus polyonychius. By the late Morrison, gigantic diplodocids (or likely diplodocids) had appeared, including Diplodocus hallorum (formerly Seismosaurus), Supersaurus vivianae, Amphicoelias altus, and M. fragilimus. Smaller sauropods, such as Suuwassea emiliae from Montana, tend to be found in the northern reaches of the Morrison, near the shores of the ancient Sundance Sea, suggesting ecological niches favoring smaller body size there compared with the giants found further south. Haplocanthosaurids Rebbachisaurids Dicraeosaurids Diplodocids Macronarians Theropods Theropod dinosaurs, the carnivorous dinosaurs, came in several different types. The less derived types, the ceratosaurs and megalosaurids, included Ceratosaurus nasicornis, C. dentisulcatus, C. magnicornis, Elaphrosaurus sp., and the megalosaur Torvosaurus tanneri (including Edmarka rex). Allosaurids included the common Allosaurus fragilis (including Epanterias amplexus), Allosaurus new species, A. lucasi, and giant Saurophaganax maximus (potentially included in Allosaurus?). Indeterminate theropod remains have been recovered in Utah. Indeterminate theropod tracks have been recovered from both Utah and Arizona. Allosauroidea Ceratosaurs Coelurosaurs Coelurosaurs, the group of theropods most closely related to and including birds, included Coelurus fragilis, Ornitholestes hermanni, Tanycolagreus topwilsoni, the possible troodontid Koparion douglassi, the definite troodontid Hesperornithoides, and the early tyrannosauroid Stokesosaurus clevelandi. Megalosauroids Eggs Dinosaur eggs have been found in Utah. Tracks Ornithopods Morrison ornithopod trace fossils are represented by three toed tracks which are generally small. The toes of Morrison ornithopod tracks are usually more widely splayed than the theropod tracks preserved in the formation. Stegosaurs Stegosaur tracks were first recognized in 1996 from a hindprint-only trackway discovered at the Cleveland-Lloyd quarry, which is located near Price, Utah. Two years later, a new ichnogenus called Stegopodus was erected for another set of stegosaur tracks which were found near Arches National Park, also in Utah. Unlike the first, this trackway preserved traces of the forefeet. Fossil remains indicate that stegosaurs have five digits on the forefeet and three weight-bearing digits on the hind feet. From this, scientists were able to successfully predict the appearance of stegosaur tracks in 1990, six years in advance of the first actual discovery of Morrison stegosaur tracks. Since the erection of Stegopodus, more trackways have been found, however none have preserved traces of the front feet, and stegosaur traces remain rare. Theropods Indeterminate theropod tracks have been recovered from both Utah and Arizona. Footnotes References Butler, R.J., P.M. Galton, L.B. Porro, L.M. Chiappe, D.M. Henderson, and G.M. Erickson. 2009. Lower limits of ornithischian dinosaur body size inferred from a new Upper Jurassic heterodontosaurid from North America. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 10.1098/rspb.2009.1494 PDF "Camarasaurus." In: Dodson, Peter & Britt, Brooks & Carpenter, Kenneth & Forster, Catherine A. & Gillette, David D. & Norell, Mark A. & Olshevsky, George & Parrish, J. Michael & Weishampel, David B. The Age of Dinosaurs. Publications International, LTD. p. 56. ISBN 0-7853-0443-6. Carpenter K, Galton PM (2001). "Othniel Charles Marsh and the Eight-Spiked Stegosaurus". In Carpenter, Kenneth (ed.). The Armored Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press. pp. 76–102. ISBN 978-0-253-33964-5. Carpenter, K. and Wilson, Y. 2008. A new species of Camptosaurus (Ornithopoda: Dinosauria) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Dinosaur National Monument, Utah, and a biomechanical analysis of its forelimb. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 76:227-263. Chure, Daniel J. (2001). "On the type and referred material of Laelaps trihedrodon Cope 1877 (Dinosauria: Theropoda)". In Tanke, Darren; Carpenter, Kenneth (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 10–18. ISBN 978-0-253-33907-2. Foster, J. (2007). Jurassic .... Discover the Cleveland Galton popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Cleveland Galton books.