Brachytrachelopan
Brachytrachelopan was a sauropod dinosaur with a very short neck, unlike most of its long-necked relatives. It lived in what is now Argentina during the Late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. This dinosaur was a plant-eater that probably fed on low-growing plants.12
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Fun facts
Brachytrachelopan had the shortest neck of any known sauropod, about 40 percent shorter than other dicraeosaurids.12
Its neck was so short that it could not bend upward much, so it only ate plants growing near the ground.1
This dinosaur weighed about 5 metric tons, which is as heavy as a large elephant.1
The only known fossil was found by a shepherd named Daniel Mesa while he was looking for lost sheep.1
Brachytrachelopan belonged to a group called dicraeosaurids, which were sauropods with shorter necks than most.1
Scientists think Brachytrachelopan filled the same ecological role as large iguanodontian dinosaurs in North America, which were also low-browsing plant-eaters.1
The fossil bones were found still connected to each other, but much of the skeleton had already been lost to erosion.1
Most asked questions about Brachytrachelopan
?How big was Brachytrachelopan?
It was small for a sauropod, measuring 10 to 11 metres (33 to 36 ft) in length and weighing about 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons).1
?What did Brachytrachelopan eat?
It was a herbivore that ate low-growing plants, probably those growing at heights between about 1 and 2 metres.1
?Why did Brachytrachelopan have a short neck?
Its short neck helped it feed on low plants, unlike most other sauropods that had long necks for reaching high vegetation.1
?Where was Brachytrachelopan found?
It was discovered in the Cañadón Calcáreo Formation in Chubut Province, Argentina, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-northeast of Cerro Cóndor.1
?When did Brachytrachelopan live?
It lived during the Late Jurassic Period, about 150 million years ago.4
?Is Brachytrachelopan a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a sauropod dinosaur from the group Diplodocoidea and family Dicraeosauridae.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Brachytrachelopan
- Named by
- Rauhut et al. 20055
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Dicraeosauridae5
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Diplodocoidea5
- Age of the rocks
- 155 to 145 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)5
- Rock formations
- Cañadón Calcáreo5
- Countries
- Argentina5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Brachytrachelopan was discovered by a local shepherd named Daniel Mesa in Chubut Province, Argentina. Scientists Oliver Rauhut and colleagues named it in 2005.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Brachytrachelopan and other dicraeosaurids evolved such short necks compared to other sauropods.12
Where the facts come from
- Brachytrachelopan (en.wikipedia.org)
- Discovery of a short-necked sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period of Patagonia | Nature (nature.com)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Brachytrachelopan | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Brachytrachelopan in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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