Quick Facts
Name Meaning:	Abydos (city by the Nile River)
Distribution:	Utah, USA
Time Period:	Early Cretaceous, 105 Ma
Length:	Juvenile 25 ft (8 m)
Diet:	Leaves
Linnaean Classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder:	Sauropoda
Family:	Brachiosauridae
Genus:	Abydosaurus
Cladistic Classification
Dinosauria Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Eusauropoda Neosauropoda Macroraria Camarasauromorpha Titanosauriformes Brachiosauridae Abydosaurus

Artist Michael Skrepnick's depiction of Abydosaurus mcintoshi.

Discovery

The Abydosaurus was unveiled on February 23, 2010 and named by Daniel Chure. The Sauropod was discovered by a team of students from Brigham Young University and paleontologists from the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. It was found in Cedar Mountain Formation about a quarter of a mile from the Dinosaur National Monument Visitor's Center. The unique quality of the find was the skulls. Of approximately 120 known species of Sauropod only 8 posses complete skulls. The excavation resulted in four skulls, two of which were complete. The four skulls belonged to four juveniles. Excavation will continue in the summer of 2010 in an attempt and find more bones.

Quarry in Dinosaur National Monument where Abydosaurus was found. Credit: Mark Philbrick/BYU.

Description

Abydosaurus skull. Credit: Jason L. Hamilton

The closest relative of the Abydosaurus has been determined to be the Brachiosaurus, a gigantic Sauropod. Like others of its family the Abydosaurus possessed a long neck and may have grown to be as long as 50 ft (15 m), although only juveniles of approximately 25 ft have been discovered. Its teeth tell a lot about the species and their diet and behavior. The teeth are small and pencil-like. This may imply that the Abydosaurus did not chew its food but used its teeth to rip away plants and leaves to swallow whole. The Abydosaurus gets its name from a city along the Nile River which myth implies as the burial place of Osiris' neck and head. This is symbolic of the neck and head of the Abydosaurus found in a rock bed overlooking the Green river.

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