Local Geology
Cetiosaurus oxoniensis
One of the most common European sauropods of the Jurassic.
Cetiosaurus is actually one of the most primitive. In more advanced sauropods the vertebrae are hollow as a weight saving feature, however Cetiosaurushas solid vertebrae which hint at its basal position in the evolution of sauropods.
Cetiosaurus seems to have had a distribution that covered most of Western Europe to North Africa. At sixteen metres long Cetiosaurus was a small to medium sized sauropod, but as a mid-Jurassic genera go it was a giant, with larger sauropod dinosaurs such as Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus not appearing until the very last stages of the Jurassic. Despite the size however, Cetiosaurus could have been potential prey for large mid Jurassic theropods such as Megalosaurus and Dubreuillosaurus.
The images used to illustrate these pages were drawn by Andrew Orkney and commissioned by Oxford Geology Group.
Andrew sets out the thought process that informs his illustration
Cetiosaurus oxoniensis:
In this image I intended to give an impression of the massive heft of this creature. I thought this would be best achieved in partial dissection, revealing an enormous bulk of musculature. I have limited speculation about the animal's superficial anatomy, only elucidating a small comb along the animal's throat, to provide aesthetic interest.