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long-neck giant
Apatosaurus
Say it like this: “a-PAT-o-SAWR-us”
Apatosaurus ajax
Apatosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1877 · Marsh, O. C.
- Hip height
- 4 m · 13 ft
- Length
- 21–23 m · 69–75 ft
- Weight
- 16.4–22.4 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Apatosaurinae
The story in short
In 1877, O. C. Marsh published the name Apatosaurus. The name means “deceptive lizard.”
Fossils referred to Apatosaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Apatosaurus at a length near 21–23 m, hips about 4 m high, and a body mass around 16.4–22.4 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Apatosaurinae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
This entry is the whole genus. The type species is Apatosaurus ajax. Other named species include Apatosaurus louisae.
Other species with this name
- Apatosaurus ajax
- Apatosaurus louisae