- Breviparopus
"Breviparopus taghbaloutensis" is the name given to an
ichnogenus ofdinosaur , believed to be a form ofsauropod . As an ichnogenus, it is known only by (and named for) a series offossil tracks, orichnite s, found in theAtlas Mountains of present-dayMorocco . At the time, this area would have been part of theGondwana supercontinent The tracks measured 115cm in length by 50cm in width (approximately 45 by 17 inches), and date to theJurassic period (approximately 160-175 million years ago). They were first described by Dutuit and Ouazzou in 1980.1 The size, weight, and even family tree is unknown, but a great deal of speculation has arisen about this animal. Estimates range as high as 48 meters (157 feet) in length and 55 metric tonnes (60 tons) in weight. If accurate, these dimensions would make Breviparopus a contender as the largest dinosaur to have walked theEarth . Since no fossils have been found, it is impossible to substantiate these figures, nor is it even possible to say whether this mysterious sauropod was adiplodocid ,titanosaur , orbrachiosaur . All that can be said for certain, according toMichel Monbaron , "et al", is that the footprint of this creature is quite distinct from that ofAtlasaurus .2 It is also worth noting that the bone fossil record from theMiddle Jurassic , according toC.A. Meyer is rather more incomplete than the fossil record of dinosaur tracks.3ee also (other massive sauropods)
*"
Amphicoelias "
*"Argentinosaurus "
*"Bruhathkayosaurus "
*"Sauroposeidon "ources
* Note 1: Dutuit, J.M. & A. Ouazzou (1980). "Découverte d'une piste de Dinosaure sauropode sur le site d'empreintes de Demnat (Haut-Atlas marocain)." "Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France", Nouvelle Série 139:95-102.
* Note 2: Monbaron, Michel, "et al" (1999)."Atlasaurus imelakei" n.g., n.sp., a brachiosaurid-like sauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Morocco." "Les Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences IIa: Earth and Planetary Sciences." 1999:519-526.
* Note 3: [http://geoscience-meeting.scnatweb.ch/sgm2005/SGM05_abstracts/08_Fossils_and_Evolution/session_08_talks.pdf Meyer, C.A. & B. Thüring. "Mind the 'Middle Jurassic' Gap - Bone versus Track Record in Dinosaurs."]
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