Ardetosaurus viator van der Linden et al., 2024 (new genus and species)
(Neck vertebra of Ardetosaurus viator, with reconstructed portions shaded in white, from van der Linden et al., 2024)
Meaning of name: Ardetosaurus = burnt [in Latin] lizard [in Greek]; viator = traveler [in Latin, referring to the original specimen having been transported from the United States to Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands]
Age: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian), between 149.21–150.44 million years ago
Where found: Morrison Formation, Wyoming, U.S.A.
How much is known: Partial skeleton of one individual including multiple vertebrae, part of the hips, and some limb bones.
Notes: Ardetosaurus was a diplodocid sauropod, making it a close relative of Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. Given that the type specimen preserves a large portion of the spinal column, it provides valuable information on how the anatomy of the vertebrae varied across different parts of the spine in sauropods. It also exhibits features of the vertebrae that distinguish it from all other known diplodocids.
The type specimen of Ardetosaurus was dug up in 1993–1994 and has been nicknamed "Brösmeli" (meaning "crumbly" in Swiss German). In 2003, part of the specimen, including several of its neck vertebrae, were destroyed by a fire at the Dinosaurier Freilichtmuseum in Germany (hence the name Ardetosaurus), in a case of malicious arson. Based on microscopic examination of its bone structure, the type specimen was an adult at the time of its death, probably about 22 years old.
(Schematic skeletal of Ardetosaurus viator by Ole Zant [scale bar = 1 m], with preserved bones in white and bones that were preserved but subsequently lost in light gray, from van der Linden et al., 2024)
Reference: van der Linden, T.T.P., E. Tschopp, R.B. Sookias, J.J.W. Wallaard, F.M. Holwerda, and A.S. Schulp. 2024. A new diplodocine sauropod from the Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica 27: 50. doi: 10.26879/1380














