PERIJASAURUS
a eusauropod sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Columbia
Pronunciation:
Meaning: Perija lizard
Author/s: Rincón
et al. (
2022)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Cesar, Colombia
Discovery Chart Position: #1073
Perijasaurus lapaz
(Perija lizard, for La/de Paz)Etymology
Perijasaurus is derived from "
Perija" (for the Serranía del Perijá, which is a part of the cordillera shared by Colombia and Venezuela) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The
species epithet,
lapaz (la-PAHZ), refers to both the nearby town of La Paz and the 2016 Acuerdos de Paz (peace agreement) that allowed the authors to conduct fieldwork in the region.
Zoobank registry:
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:413133DC-56E7-46C1-972B-8439A7D896F7.
Discovery
The remains of
Perijasaurus were discovered in the La Quinta Formation in the Arroyo Lameador, just north of the Manaure-La Paz road on the western flank of the Serranía del Perijá, Department of Cesar, north-eastern Colombia, by JW Durham and Mr. B. B. Colley during the course of field work for the
Tropical Oil Company on March 27, 1943.
The
holotype (UCMP 37689) is a broken back vertebra, roughly 55 cm tall and 45 cm long.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Middle Jurassic
Stage: Toarcian-Aalenian
Age range: 175 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: ?
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: ?
Diet: Herbivore
References
• Durham J and Colley B (1943) "Detailed geology of the Manaure road. Department of Magdalena-Colombia S.A. Scale 1:10.000. Unpublished map.
• Langston Jr W and Durham JW (1955) "A sauropod dinosaur from Colombia".
Journal of Paleontology, 29: 1047-1051.
• Rincón AF, Raad Pájaro DA, Jiménez Velandia HF, Ezcurra MD and Wilson Mantilla JA (2022) "A sauropod from the Lower Jurassic La Quinta formation (Dept. Cesar, Colombia) and the initial diversification of eusauropods at low latitudes".
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: e2077112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2021.2077112.
Time stands still for no man, and research is ongoing. If you spot an error, or want to expand, edit or add a dinosaur, please use
this form. Go
here to contribute to our FAQ.
All dinos are GM free, and no herbivores were eaten during site construction!
To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
PERIJASAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
‹
http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/PERIJASAURUS›. Web access: 06th Mar 2026.
