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ATLANTOSAURUS

a dubious diplodocid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America.
Pronunciation: at-LAN-toe-SOR-us
Meaning: Atlas lizard
Author/s: Marsh (1877)
Synonyms: Titanosaurus montanus (Marsh, 1877)
First Discovery: Colorado, USA
Discovery Chart Position: #53

Atlantosaurus montanus

(Atlas lizard from Montana)Etymology
Atlantosaurus is derived from the Greek "Atlas" (one of the Titans from Greek mythology) and "sauros" (lizard), so named for its huge size.
The species epithet, montanus, is derived from the Spanish "montaña" (mountain) because it was discovered "on the eastern flanks of the Rocky Mountains".
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Late Jurassic
Stage: Kimmeridgian-Tithonian
Age range: 152-150 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: 22 meters
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: 18 tons
Diet: Herbivore
References
• Marsh OC (1877) "Notice of a new and gigantic dinosaur".
American Journal of Science, s3, 14(79): 87-88.
• Marsh OC (1877) "Notice of new dinosaurian reptiles from the Jurassic formation".
American Journal of Science, s3, 14: 514-516.
• Marsh OC (1878) "Notice of new dinosaurian reptiles". American Journal of Science, series 3, 15: 241–244. [coins Atlantosaurus immanis.]
• Marsh OC 1878) "Principle characters of American Jurassic dinosaurs, part 1". American Journal of Science, series 3, 15: 416-416.
• McIntosh JS (1990) "Sauropoda". Page 345-401 in Weishampel, Dodson and Osmólska (eds.) "The Dinosauria: First Edition".
• Taylor MP (2010) "Sauropod dinosaur research: a historical review." Page 361-386 in Moody, Buffetaut, Naish and Martill (eds.) "Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Saurians: A Historical Perspective".
• Ghist J (2010) "Rediscovering Arthur Lakes' historic lost quarries at Dinosaur Ridge (Morrison, Colorado)". Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 42(5): 222.
• Tschopp E, Mateus OV and Benson RBJ (2015) "A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)". PeerJ, 3: e857. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.857.
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To cite this page:
Atkinson, L. "ATLANTOSAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
›. Web access: 07th Mar 2026.
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