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long-neck giant
Brontosaurus
Say it like this: “BRON-tuh-SOR-uhs”
Brontosaurus excelsus
Brontosaurus 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
- 1879 · Marsh, O. C.
- Hip height
- 4 m · 13 ft
- Length
- 19–23 m · 62–75 ft
- Weight
- 14–20 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
Brontosaurus was formally named in 1879 by O. C. Marsh.
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 Brontosaurus at a length near 19–23 m, hips about 4 m high, and a body mass around 14–20 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Apatosaurinae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.