Dino card No. 0310 of 2,015

Brontosaurus

Say it: BRON-tə-SOR-əs

Name means: “thunder lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Brontosaurus was a giant, long-necked dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period. It had a long whip-like tail and ate plants, using its huge body to reach ferns and other greenery.1

Lived

155 to 143 million years ago2

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Utah and Wyoming, USA1

Food

Plants1

Length

19 to 23 m1

largest species B. excelsus up to 21 to 23 m, smaller B. parvus up to 19 m

Weight

14 tonnes to 20 tonnes1

Artist's life restoration of Brontosaurus — How Brontosaurus may have looked, by Nobu Tamura email:[email protected] http://spinops.blogspot.com/. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Brontosaurus was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879, based on a partial skeleton found in Como Bluff, Wyoming.1

For many years, scientists thought Brontosaurus was the same as Apatosaurus, but a 2015 study showed it is a separate genus.1

The largest species, Brontosaurus excelsus, could reach up to 23 meters (75 feet) long and weigh as much as 20 tonnes (22 short tons).1

Brontosaurus had a very long neck and a whip-like tail, and its front legs were slightly shorter than its back legs.1

Young Brontosaurus grew very fast, reaching adult size in as little as 15 years.1

Brontosaurus lived about 156 to 146 million years ago during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages.1

Myth buster

Myth: Brontosaurus is often thought to be the same dinosaur as Apatosaurus.

Truth: While they were once considered synonyms, a 2015 study confirmed that Brontosaurus is a distinct genus from Apatosaurus.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Brontosaurus
Named by: Marsh 18792
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Diplodocidae2
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Diplodocoidea2
Age of the rocks: 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian)2
Rock formations: Morrison2
Countries: USA2
Fossil records: 23 in the Paleobiology Database2
Also known as: Elosaurus, Eobrontosaurus (older names now counted as the same animal)2
Discovery: Brontosaurus was named by American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879, based on a partial skeleton found at Como Bluff, Wyoming.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether some fossils belong to Brontosaurus or its close relative Apatosaurus.1

Where the facts come from

Brontosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Brontosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.