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long-neck giant
Brachiosaurus
Say it like this: “BRAK-ee-uh-SOR-uhs”
Brachiosaurus altithorax
Brachiosaurus 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
- 1903 · Riggs, E. S.
- Hip height
- 5 m · 16 ft
- Length
- 18–22 m · 59–72 ft
- Weight
- 28–47 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Brachiosauridae
The story in short
In 1903, E. S. Riggs published the name Brachiosaurus. The name means “arm lizard.”
It lived in 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 Brachiosaurus at a length near 18–22 m, hips about 5 m high, and a body mass around 28–47 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Brachiosauridae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Abydosaurus
Abydosaurus mcintoshi
Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Cedarosaurus
Cedarosaurus weiskopfae
Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) · roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago
Giraffatitan
Giraffatitan brancai
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago