NAME

Meaning - Brachiosaurus means “Arm lizard”
Pronounced - BRAK-e-o-SAWR-us
Named By - Elmer S. Riggs
When Named - 1903
DIET

Herbivore (plant-eater) - it ate conifers, cycads, and ginkgos.
SIZE

Length - 80-85 feet (24-26 m) long
Height - 23 feet (7 m) tall at the hips, 40-50 feet (12-16 m) tall at the head
Weight - 33-88 tons (30-80 tonnes)
WHEN IT LIVED

Late Jurassic period, about 156-145 million years ago
WHERE IT LIVED

Fossils have been found in Colorado, USA, North America and Tanzania, Africa, and perhaps Portugal, Europe.
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 herbivores
  • Family Brachiosauridae giraffe-stanced sauropods (with arms longer than legs)
  • Genus Brachiosaurus
  • Species B. altithorax (type species named by Riggs, 1903)
INTERESTING FACTS

Unlike most other dinosaurs, the front legs of Brachiosaurus were longer than the hind legs (hence its name, “arm lizard”).
LINKS

A detailed page on Brachiosaurus.
A Brachiosaurus printout to color
A Brachiosaurus skeleton printout to color
A Brachiosaurus printout to color (simple version)
An online quiz on Brachiosaurus