Camarasaurus

MEANING: Chambered lizard

PERIOD: Late Jurassic

CONTINENT: North America

Camarasaurus is the most common sauropod found in North America. It lived alongside other sauropods, filling separate niches by eating different types of vegetation. Camarasaurus was a medium-sized sauropod, at around 20 m in length, and weighing 50 t. It had the large naris typical of Macronarians, as well as the long forelimbs and relatively short tail.

Camarasaurus is from the Late Jurassic. The Late Jurassic was a dynamic period, spanning from about 162 to 143 million years ago. The continents were continuing to drift apart, and the supercontinent Pangaea had fully split into Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. This continental rearrangement led to the formation of large inland seas and shallow coastlines that fostered diverse ecosystems. The climate during the Late Jurassic was warm and humid, with lush forests of conifers and ferns that stretched across much of the continents, creating a rich ecosystem where dinosaurs flourished the dominant land animals.

Dinosaurs continued to diversify through the Late Jurassic, with some of the most famous species evolving in this time. Many well-known sauropods, such as Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus roamed the land, exhibiting niche partitioning with their selectively distinct neck positions. Alongside them, stegosaurs became widespread, their plates and spikes making them one of the era's most recognizable groups. Theropods like Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus were the apex predators, evolving large, powerful bodies and sharp teeth that allowed them to hunt the gigantic herbivores. The early evolution of birds was taking place, setting the stage for the numerous species that would fill the skies in the eras to come.

Unlike the dramatic mass extinctions that marked the beginning and end of the Mesozoic, the Jurassic Period ended without a sharp boundary. As the continents continued to drift, ecosystems gradually transformed into unique habitats that supported the more specialized dinosaur species of the Cretaceous.

Camarasaurus is a camarasaurid. Camarasauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Jurassic, primarily in North America and Europe. They were medium to large sauropods, generally smaller than diplodocids or brachiosaurids, but still reaching impressive lengths of 15–20 meters. Their fossils are often found in abundance, suggesting they were among the most successful sauropods of their time.

Camarasaurids are distinguished by their boxy skulls with large external nares, spoon-shaped teeth, and relatively short necks compared to many other sauropods. These features indicate a feeding strategy focused on tougher vegetation at moderate heights, in contrast to the high browsing of brachiosaurids or the sweeping ground-level grazing of diplodocids. Their strong, compact bodies and widespread fossil record suggest they were adaptable, thriving across diverse Jurassic environments. As some of the most common sauropods in their ecosystems, camarasaurids played a central role in the herbivorous fauna of the Late Jurassic.