(a) and
atlas, and right in oblique view The species
Morosaurus agilis was originally named by
Othniel Charles Marsh in 1889 for a partial skull, proatlases, and three cervical vertebrae found in 1883 in the
Morrison Formation of Colorado. However, the genus
Morosaurus was in 1907 reinterpreted as a
junior synonym of
Camarasaurus, and most of the species assigned to the former genus were reassigned to the latter.
M. agilis, on the other hand, was left defunct without a proper generic assignment. Over time comparisons have been drawn with
Haplocanthosaurus,
Diplodocus and
brachiosaurids, but never with a phylogenetic analysis. Further preparation and analysis by Whitlock & Wilson, 2020, have since reinterpreted it as a dicraeosaurid, warranting the new genus name
Smitanosaurus. The new generic name means "smith lizard", from the
Old Saxon smitan, referring to J. August Smith, who excavated and sketched the
holotype USNM 5384, as well as the
Smithsonian Institution, where the remains are stored. == Classification ==