Editing Ultrasaurus

{{Short description|Genus of dinosaur}}
{{About|the dubious dinosaur genus from South Korea|the invalid dinosaur genus from Colorado|Ultrasauros}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Early Cretaceous]], {{fossilrange|110|100}}
| image = 
| image_caption = 
| genus = Ultrasaurus
| parent_authority = [[Haang-Mook Kim|Kim]], 1983<ref name="kim1983" />
| species = tabriensis
| authority = Kim, 1983<ref name="kim1983" />
| synonyms = 
*''Hltrasurus'' <small>Kim, 1994 (''[[sic]]'')</small>
}}

'''''Ultrasaurus''''' (meaning "[[wikt:ultra|ultra]] lizard"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.paleofile.com/Dinosaurs/Sauropoda/Ultrasaurus.asp|title=Ultrasaurus|website=Paleofile|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031085428/http://www.paleofile.com/Dinosaurs/Sauropoda/Ultrasaurus.asp|archive-date=October 31, 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref>) is a [[genus]] of [[sauropod]] dinosaur discovered by Haang Mook Kim in South Korea. However, the name was first used unofficially (as a ''[[nomen nudum]]'') in 1979 by Jim Jensen to describe a set of giant [[dinosaur]] bones he discovered in the United States. Because Kim published the name for his specimen before Jensen could do so officially, Jensen renamed his specimen ''[[Ultrasauros]]''. Jensen's giant sauropod was later found to be a [[chimera (paleontology)|chimera]], and the [[Type (biology)|type]] remains are now assigned to ''[[Supersaurus]]''.

==Mistaken assessments==
A collection of bones discovered by [[James A. Jensen|Jim Jensen]], of [[Brigham Young University]], at the [[Dry Mesa Quarry]], [[Colorado]] were originally believed to belong to the largest dinosaur ever. Jensen informally called this supposedly new dinosaur "Ultrasaurus", and this name was widely used by the press and in scientific literature as a ''nomen nudum'' (informal name lacking an actual scientific description).

In 1983, [[Kim Hang-mook]] published a paper describing a different specimen representing a new dinosaur species, which he named '''''Ultrasaurus tabriensis''''', because he believed it was bigger than ''[[Supersaurus]]''. However, Kim's assessment was incorrect. His dinosaur was much smaller than he believed, because he mistook a partial [[humerus]] for an [[ulna]]. However, since Kim was the first to publish the name ''Ultrasaurus'', the name officially applied to the small [[South Korea]]n sauropod, and could no longer be used as an official name for Jensen's giant specimen.

Jensen published a paper describing his original discovery in 1985, but since the name ''Ultrasaurus'' was already in use (or "preoccupied"), his discovery was renamed in 1991 to ''Ultrasaur'''''o'''''s''. However, Jensen also made a mistake. His discovery was a chimera; the collection of [[fossil]]s came from two different dinosaur species, both of which already had names. So his new name, ''Ultrasauros'', is now just an alternate name (''junior synonym'') for the dinosaur officially known as ''Supersaurus''.

==Description==
''Ultrasaurus'' lived 100 to 110&nbsp;[[million years ago]], during the [[Aptian]] and [[Albian]] [[faunal stage|stages]] of the [[Early Cretaceous]]. It is known from the holotype '''DGBU-1973''', which consists of part of an upper forearm ([[humerus]]), and '''DGBU-1978-A''', a single tailbone ([[vertebra]]e) from the [[Gugyedong Formation]], belonging to the [[Hayang Group]].<ref name="kim1983">{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Haang-mook |date=1983 |title=Cretaceous dinosaurs from South Korea |url=https://www.dbpia.co.kr/Journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE01628252 |journal=Journal of the Geological Society of Korea |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=115–126 |lang=ko}}</ref>

==Classification==
Kim's ''Ultrasaurus'' is currently a ''[[nomen dubium]]''. Not enough is known about the specimen to formally assign it to a specific [[family (taxonomy)|family]] of sauropods.<ref name="kim1983" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Sauropodomorpha|B.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q277682}}

[[Category:Sauropoda]]
[[Category:Dinosaur genera]]
[[Category:Albian dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1983]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs of Asia]]