Fossil brain box and partial skull roof Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This specimen underwent reevaluation and was reclassified, resulting in the establishment of a new genus and species of sauropod dinosaur from the Dicraeosauridae family: athena bellmani.
The dinosaur athena bellmani inhabited what is now Utah, USA, during the Late Jurassic Period, approximately 151 to 150 million years ago.
This specimen, designated Carnegie Museum (CM) Specimen 26552, was first discovered in 1913 in the Morrison Formation at the Carnegie Quarry in Dinosaur National Monument.
So far, the specimens have been assigned to a genus of sauropod dinosaurs known as diplodocus.
Dr. John Whitlock, a researcher at Mount Aloysius College and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, commented, “The Carnegie Museum of Natural History contains some of the most significant specimens for understanding the cranial anatomy of diplodocoid sauropods.”
“One specimen, CM 26552, is frequently overlooked in favor of a more complete skull; however, it holds immense historical significance as it provided the foundation for modern descriptions of brain case anatomy in the diplodocus genus.”
“In view of new discoveries since its initial description in 1978, we are reassessing the anatomical and taxonomic relationships of this specimen.”
The new analysis indicates that CM 26552’s characteristics align more closely with another group of sauropods, the Dicraeosauridae.
“CM 26552 showcases mosaic features that distinctly separate it from other known North American dicraeosaur species,” the paleontologists noted.
“Based on this evidence, we are assigning CM 26552 to a new genus: athena, with the specific name bellmani.”
Research has also revealed that athena bellmani is closely related to dicraeosaurids like Swasea.
The researchers stated, “Considering CM 26552 as a new species of Dicraeosaurina enhances our understanding of this family’s diversity in the Morrison Formation and North America broadly, thus enriching the historically underrepresented sauropod diversity of this region.”
The findings have been published in an online journal this month: Old Trogia Electronica.
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John A. Whitlock et al. 2025. athena bellmani, a new species of dicraeosaur sauropod discovered from Dinosaur National Monument in Utah, USA. Old Trogia Electronica 28 (3): a50; doi: 10.26879/1550
Source: www.sci.news
