Apatosaurus
a-PAT-oh-SAWR-us
- featured
At over 20m in length and around 20 tons, Apatosaurus is one of the largest dinosaurs ever to have existed. This herbivorous Sauropod has a long neck that allows it to feed on the leaves of tall trees as well as lower-hanging plants, while the tip of its tail can be whipped to produce a loud bang that scares off predators.
Discovery
Apatosaurus was discovered in 1877, when Othniel Charles Marsh unearthed a near-complete skeleton in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. Its name, which translates to ‘deceptive lizard’, stems from Marsh’s initial misconception that its bone structure was that of an aquatic reptile.
Palaeoecology
Fossils dating back to the Late Jurassic period (approximately 150 million years ago) have been found across the western United States and parts of Europe. The location of these findings have led researchers to believe that Apatosaurus lived near rivers, and co-existed with Camarasaurus, Ceratosaurus and the feared Allosaurus.
Information
- Era
- Late Jurassic
- Family
- Diplodocidae
- Genus
- Apatosaurus
- Height
- 6M
- Length
- 27M
- Weight
- 20T
- Diet
- Tall Paleobotany
- Egg batch size
- 1 - 2
