046--OPISTHOCOELICAUDIA SKARZYNSKII

project: DINOSAURIA
specimen 046

OPISTHOCOELICAUDIA SKARZYNSKII
"Wojciech Skarzynski's Backwards Hollow Tail"
Borsuk-Białynicka, 1977
Length: 12m (39ft)
Weight: 13.5 tonnes (15 tons)
Location: Ömnögovi, Mongolia
Era: Maastrichtian age, upper Cretaceous (70 million years ago)

Classification:
Dinosauria
Saurischia
Sauropodomorpha
Plateosauria
Massopoda
Anchisauria
Sauropoda
Neosauropoda
Macronaria
Titanosauriformes
Somphospondyli
Titanosauria
Lithostrotia
Saltasauridae
Opisthocoelicaudiinae

Notes:
The name Opisthocoelicaudia, while famous among dinosaur enthusiasts for being perhaps the most unutterable dinosaur name out there, is actually a fairly direct description of a unique feature to the animal: the tail vertebrae of Sauropods are held together by ball and socket joints--normally in Titanosaurs the rear of the vertebrae features the ball and the front features the hollow cavity, but in Opisthocoelicaudia, this is reversed, the hollow being on the rear of the vertebrae and the ball on the front. Hence, greek opisthe [back], koilos [hollow], cauda [tail], Opisthocoelicaudia.