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Brontosaurus, more correctly known as Apatosaurus, were among the largest land animals that ever lived. They could grow to over 80 feet long and weigh approximately 35 tons. Brontosaurs is known for its very long neck useful for eating foilage off trees and shrubs. The head of a Brontosaurus was very small with one of the smallest brains of any dinosaur. The eyes and nostrils are located on the top of the head. With such a small head and a correspondingly small mouth, Brontosaurus must have spent most of the time eating to get enough nourishment from plants to sustain itself.
Brontosaurus dinosaurs lived in the Jurassic Period about 150 millions years ago. Fossils have been found in Western North America in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. Brontosaurus is related to other large Sauropods like Brachiosaurus, and Diplodocus which are among the largest dinosaurs ever discovered.
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FAVORITE DINO !!!!!
Me too! Why couldn't they just let the Brontosaurus be? Well, I'll always call it the Brontosaurus no matter what. That was one of the first dinosaurs I learned about.
There was a cock-up, which happens more often than we scientists like to let on. Apatosaurus was discovered first; then Brontosaurus was 'discovered' and thought to be a different species. In fact it turned out to be a juvenile specimen of the first species.
Unfortunately, scientists always stick to the first name used. Myself, I couldn't care less about this rule in this instance, because Brontosaurus (especially when you find out it means 'thunder lizard') is a far better name.
A similar cock-up (in which the remains of one animal was thought at first to be three separate species) is unravelled here.
Hope this entertains.
That's right- "Thunder Lizard!" That is by far the best dinosaur name. My complaint is that they named it Brontosaurus, I was taught it was a Brontosaurus, I used to draw Brontosaurus', and they changed it just like that. Like Kittilyn, I feel like my life has been a lie. What else do I know that is not right, what other assumptions am I using that are flawed? You are supposed to trust people, they wouldn't lie to you, why not leave it as Brontosaurus? Who's it hurting? I don't think anybody would really care, well like I said before- I will always refer to the majestic beast as a Brontosaurus? I kind of ranted didn't I, well, I feel strongly about this.
Well... one Net 'source' I checked before quoting chapter and verse on this stated that Brontosaurus lived in the Cretaceous Period, which is just plain wrong; they were Jurassic beasts, as this page correctly states. I always try to corroborate stuff before passing it on.
And even then you have to be careful. I've just discovered a page which says the second discovery was of an adult of the first, the other way round from what I stated!
I'll consult Steven Jay Gould before I say anything else.
Several points: firstly, I was under the impression that these giant sauropods were all extinct by the Cretaceous Period.
Not so! At least one group, the Titanosaurids, survived significantly past the Jurassic time.
Secondly, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Bone Wars, which is a sad example of human greed and animosity in action.
Thirdly, as a result of said Bone Wars, there was a great deal of clearing-up to be done (isn't there always?) and it turned out that Marsh (maybe Cope as well, I didn't check) was a 'splitter' - that is, he claimed discovery of more species than he was entitled to. A chap named Riggs sorted this case out; it was indeed the Apatosaurus which was the relative juvenile of the two.
So my first version of the story, 'backed up' by 'evidence' from the Net, was completely base over apex, to use a polite version of a fairly coarse English expression!
My reference in this judgment is S.J. Gould's appropriately-named book, Bully for Brontosaurus.
Oh, and for what it's worth, Apatosaurus means 'deceptive lizard'.
Actually, what everyone thought was a Brontosaurus was an Apatosaurus _skeleton_ with a Camarasaurus _skull_, so it actually wasn't even a real animal. Or so I read...but Wikipedia agrees with me, so there you have it.
Whoa, what a discussion! Too much science for my brain. I think it'll always be "brontosaurus" to me. At least until they have more solid and distinct information about all those dinosaurs..
I'm not sure why I always liked the brontosaurus, but it's probably because it always seems so friendly and has that looong neck. I like giraffes too.. I never even thought about that O_o.