Apatosaurus
PALAEONTOLOGICAL RECORD
Apatosaurus is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. Othniel Charles Marsh described and named the first-known species, Apatosaurus ajax, in 1877, and a second species, Apatosaurus louisae, was discovered and named by William H. Holland in 1916. Apatosaurus lived about 152 to 151 million years ago (mya), during the late Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian age, and are now known from fossils in the Morrison Formation of modern-day Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah in the United States. Apatosaurus had an average length of 21–23 m (69–75 ft), and an average mass of 16.4–22.4 t. A few specimens indicate a maximum length of 11–30% greater than average and a mass of approximately 33 t.
DISCOVERY
Discovered by O.C. Marsh in 1877.
DIETARY PROFILE
Low browsing on ferns and club-mosses using peg-like teeth.
NOTABLE PALAEONTOLOGY FACTS
- The famous 'Brontosaurus' was actually incorrectly identified Apatosaurus bones for a century.
- Its long sweeping tail could break the sound barrier like a bullwhip to scare predators.
HOLLYWOOD INACCURACIES
- Physical model accurately displays the low, sweeping neck posture typical of diplodocids.
