NAME

Meaning - Apatosaurus means “deceptive lizard” - Brontosaurus (this name is no longer used) means “thunder lizard”
Pronounced - a-PAT-o-SAWR-us
Named By - Othniel C. Marsh
When Named - 1877
DIET

Herbivore (plant-eater). Apatosaurus swallowed stones to help grind up its tough plant food. It did not chew its food.
SIZE

Length - 70-90 feet (21-27 m) long
Height - 10-15 feet (3-4.6 m) tall at the hips
Weight - 33-38 tons (30-35 tonnes)
WHEN IT LIVED

Late Jurassic period, about 157-146 million years ago
WHERE IT LIVED

Fossils have been found in Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming, in the USA, North America.
FOSSILS

A few incomplete fossils have been found (mostly without skulls).
CLASSIFICATION
  • Kingdom Animalia (animals)
  • Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
  • Class Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.)
  • Order Saurischia - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
  • Suborder Sauropoda - large, long-necked, quadrupedal herbivores
  • Superfamily Neosauropoda - advanced sauropods
  • Family Diplodocidae - whip-tailed, peg-toothed sauropods with high spines on the vertebrae.
  • Genus Apatosaurus
  • Species A. ajax (type species named by Marsh, 1877)
INTERESTING FACTS

The dinosaur Brontosaurus (Marsh,1879) is now called Apatosaurus. Apatosaurus’ nostrils were located on the top of its head.
LINKS

A detailed page on Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus.