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long-neck giant
Giraffatitan
Say it like this: “ji-raf-a-tie-tan”
Giraffatitan brancai
Giraffatitan ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Tanzania.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1988 · Paul, G. S.
- Hip height
- 4 m · 13 ft
- Length
- 21.8–26 m · 72–85 ft
- Weight
- 14.8–78.3 tonnes
- Found in
- Tanzania · Tendaguru
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Brachiosauridae
The story in short
The genus Giraffatitan dates to 1988, the year G. S. Paul described it.
Fossils referred to Giraffatitan date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Tanzania, including the Tendaguru Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Giraffatitan at a length near 21.8–26 m, hips about 4 m high, and a body mass around 14.8–78.3 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
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus altithorax
Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Cedarosaurus
Cedarosaurus weiskopfae
Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) · roughly 137.1 to 132.6 million years ago