Describer

Sereno, Beck, Dutheil, Larsson, Lyon, Moussa, Sadleir, Sidor, Varricchio, Wilson & Wilson 1999

Time

Cretaceous Early Valanginian Hauterivian

Classification

Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda

Diet

Herbivore

Fossilsite

Niger

Length

21 meter

Info

Genus - Typespecies - Skull

Jobaria (named after the Tuareg mythical creature \\\\\\\"Jobar\\\\\\\") is described as a primitive camarasaurid-like macronarian with a short neck of 12 cervicals and broad teeth, known from a number of individuals. The skull of Jobaria is built of very fragile bones and has very large openings for the nose and eyes probably it had a keen sense of smell and hearing. The braincase is the most robust part of the skull.

The spoon-shaped teeth aer similar to those of the earliest sauropods. No other Cretaceous sauropod is know with spoon-shaped teeth. They were well adapted to nipping leaves and branches od trees.The dorsal (back) vertebrae from the juvenile Jobaria have a very simple structure. There are no depressions for air sacs from the lung, and the spine at the top of the vertebra is a simple plate of bone.

The neck vertebrae are relatively short for a sauropod and there are only 12 neck vertebrae. The ball-and-socket articulation between neck vertebrae allowed the neck to curve side-to-side and up-and-down. Air sacs along the neck (connected in sequence all the way to the lung) lightened the mass of the neck.

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