Jurassic Morrison Camarasaurus Tooth VF-JC-24-037

Camarasaurus sp.

Morrison Formation Brushy Basin Member

Upper Jurassic

Moffat County, Colorado

Here is an interesting example of an adult specimen of a Camarasaurus tooth.  This example is 3.5 cm long and 2.3 cm wide at the base.  It is an almost completely worn tooth, probably a shed.  The enamel texture is beautiful, and the ware facet is dramatic.  The transition to root is visible in the mesial aspect.  There are several small spots of restoration.  Overall, this is a very interesting specimen that reflects on the life of a Camarasaurus.

Camarasaurus was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs. It was the most common of the giant sauropods to be found in North America. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation of Colorado and Utah, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian stages), between 155 and 145 million years ago.  Camarasaurus presented a distinctive cranial profile of a blunt snout and an arched skull that was remarkably square. It likely travelled in herds, or at least in family groups.  The name means "chambered lizard", referring to the hollow chambers in its vertebrae.

Camarasaurus is among the most common and frequently well-preserved sauropod dinosaurs. The maximum size of the most common species, C. lentus, was about 15 meters (49 ft) in length. The largest species, C. supremus, reached a maximum length of 23 meters (75 ft) and maximum estimated weight of 47 tonnes (51.8 tons).

The arched skull of Camarasaurus was remarkably square and the blunt snout had many fenestrae, though it was sturdy and is frequently recovered in good condition by paleontologists. The 19 centimeter long (7.5 in) teeth were shaped like chisels (spatulate) and arranged evenly along the jaw. The strength of the teeth indicates that Camarasaurus probably ate coarser plant material than the slender-toothed diplodocids.