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Brachiosaurus

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Brachiosaurus was a sauropod that lived in the late Jurassic. Brachiosaurus had a proportionally long neck, small skull, and large overall size, all of which are typical for sauropods. However, the proportions of Brachiosaurus are unlike most sauropods. It was an extremely tall dinosaur and as a member of the brachiosaur group was one of few sauropods that could actually have their necks vertical. It also had very long front legs that give it its name, which means "arm lizard". Its tail was shorter compared to its body than most sauropod's, but it was still long and muscular and could be used to deliver a nasty lash to predators.

Brachiosaurus is the namesake genus of the family Brachiosauridae, which includes a handful of other similar sauropods. Much of what is known by laypeople about Brachiosaurus is in fact based on Giraffatitan brancai, a species of brachiosaurid dinosaur from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania that was originally described by German paleontologist Werner Janensch as a species of Brachiosaurus. Recent research shows that the differences between the type species of Brachiosaurus and the Tendaguru material are significant enough that the African material should be placed in a separate genus. Several other potential species of Brachiosaurus have been described from Africa and Europe, but none of them are thought to belong to Brachiosaurus at this time.

Description[]

Brachiosaurus was a sauropod, one of a group of four-legged, plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks and tails and relatively small brains. Unlike other families of sauropods, it had a giraffe-like build, with long forelimbs and a very long neck. Brachiosaurus had spatulate teeth (resembling chisels), well-suited to its herbivorous diet. Its skull featured a number of holes, probably aiding weight-reduction. The first toe on its front foot and the first three toes on its hind feet were clawed.

General build[]

Brachiosaurus altithorax side profile

Life restoration

Brachiosaurus NT new

Life restoration of Brachiosaurus

Like all sauropod dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus was a quadrupedal animal with a small skull, a long neck, a large trunk with a high-ellipsoid cross section, a long, muscular tail and slender, columnar limbs.[1] The skull had a strong, wide snout and thick jaw bones, with spoon–shaped teeth. As in Giraffatitan, there was an arch of bone over the snout and in front of the eyes that encircled the nasal opening, although this arch was not as large as in its relative.[2] Large air sacs connected to the lung system were present in the neck and trunk, invading the vertebrae and ribs, greatly reducing the overall density.[3][4] Unusually for a sauropod, the forelimbs were longer than the hind limbs. The upper arm bone was lightly built for its size,[5] measuring (6.7 ft) in length in the type specimen.[6] The thigh bone of the type specimen was only 6.7 ft long.[6] Unlike other sauropods, Brachiosaurus appears to have been slightly sprawled at the shoulder joint,[5] and the ribcage was unusually deep.[6] This led to the trunk being inclined, with the front much higher than the hips, and the neck exiting the trunk at a steep angle. Overall, this shape resembles a giraffe more than any other living animal.[7]

Size[]

Brachiosaurus scale 1

Since "Brachiosaurus" brancai (Giraffatitan) is known from much more complete remains than B. altithorax, most size estimates for Brachiosaurus are actually for the African form. Over the years, the mass of B. altithorax has been estimated between 30 and 50 tons.[5][7][8] In the first and last cases, the authors also provided estimates for Giraffatitan, and found that genus to be somewhat lighter (31.5 metric tons for Paul [1988][7] and 23.3 metric tons for Taylor [2009][5]). The length of Brachiosaurus has been estimated at 85 ft.[9]

For many decades, Brachiosaurus was the largest dinosaur known. It has since been discovered that a number of giant titanosaurians (Argentinosaurus, for example) surpassed Brachiosaurus in terms of sheer mass. More recently, another brachiosaurid, Sauroposeidon, has also been discovered; based on incomplete fossil evidence, it too is likely to have outweighed Brachiosaurus.

Brachiosaurus is the largest dinosaur known from a relatively complete fossilized skeleton. The most complete specimens, including the Brachiosaurus in the Humboldt Museum of Berlin (excavated in Africa)—the tallest mounted skeleton in the world—are members of the species B. brancai.

The holotype material of the type species, B. altithorax. includes a sequence of seven posterior dorsal vertebrae, sacrum, proximal caudal vertebra, coracoid, humerus, femur and ribs: enough from which to estimate size.

Based on a complete composite skeleton, Brachiosaurus attained 25 meters (82 ft) in length and was probably able to raise its head about 13 meters (43 ft) above ground level. Fragmentary material from larger specimens indicates that it could grow 15% longer than this. Such material includes an isolated fibula HMN XV2 1.34 meters (4.40 ft) in length and the brachiosaurid scapulocoracoid referred to Ultrasauros.

Historically, Brachiosaurus has been estimated to have weighed as little as 15 tonnes (17 short tons) (Russell et al., 1980) and as much as 78 tonnes (86 short tons).[10] However these extreme estimates are now considered unlikely; that of Russell et al.. was based on limb-bone allometry rather than a body model, and Colbert's was based on an outdated and overweight model. More recent estimates based on models reconstructed from osteology and inferred musculature are in the range 32 tonnes (35 short tons)[11] to 37 tonnes (41 short tons) (Christiansen 1997). The 15% longer specimens hinted at above would have massed 48 to 56 tonnes (53 to 62 short tons).

Skull[]

Brachiosaurus skull cast Denver 3

Reconstruction of the Felch Quarry Brachiosaurus skull, Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Brachiosaurus has traditionally been characterised by its distinctive high-crested skull, though this may have been unique to B. brancai.

Another complete Brachiosaurus skull is known, which Marsh used for his early reconstructions of Brontosaurus. Carpenter and Tidwell studied this skull in 1998 and found that it belonged to one of the North American Brachiosaurus species. The skull of this North American Brachiosaurus is more camarasaur-like than the distinctive high-crested skull of B. brancai.

Environment and behavior[]

Brachiosaurus leg bone

The front leg bone of a Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs of the Jurassic era; it lived on prairies filled with ferns, bennettites and horsetails, and it moved through vast conifer forests and groves of cycads, seed ferns, and ginkgos. Its contemporary genera included Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Diplodocus. While it is speculated that groups of Brachiosaurus moved in herds, fully grown individuals had little to fear from even the largest predators of the time, Allosaurus and Torvosaurus, on account of their sheer size.

Brachiosaurus nostrils, like the huge corresponding nasal openings in its skull, were long thought to be located on the top of the head. In past decades, scientists theorized that the animal used its nostrils like a snorkel, spending most of its time submerged in water in order to support its great mass. The current consensus view, however, is that Brachiosaurus was a fully terrestrial animal. Studies have demonstrated that water pressure would have prevented the animal from breathing effectively while submerged and that its feet were too narrow for efficient aquatic use. Furthermore, new studies by Larry Witmer (2001) show that, while the nasal openings in the skull were placed high above the eyes, the nostrils would still have been close to the tip of the snout (a study which also lends support to the idea that the tall "crests" of brachiosaurs supported some sort of fleshy resonating chamber).

Classification[]

FMNH Brachiosaurus

Replica skeleton outside the FMNH

Brachiosaurus is the namesake genus of Brachiosauridae.[12] Through the years some sauropods have been assigned to Brachiosauridae, such as Astrodon, Bothriospondylus, Dinodocus, Pelorosaurus, Pleurocoelus, and Ultrasaurus,[13] but most of these are now viewed as dubious or of uncertain placement.[1] A phylogenetic analysis of sauropods published in the description of Abydosaurus found that genus to form a clade with Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan (included in Brachiosaurus).[14] A more recent analysis focused on possible Asian brachiosaurid material found a clade including Abydosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Cedarosaurus, Giraffatitan, and Paluxysaurus, but not Qiaowanlong, the claimed Asian brachiosaurid.[15] Related genera include Lusotitan and Sauroposeidon.[1] Brachiosauridae is placed at the base of Titanosauriformes, a group of sauropods that also includes the titanosaurs.[15]

According to the revised diagnosis by Taylor Brachiosaurus altithorax is diagnosed by a plethora of characters, many to be found on the back vertebrae.[5] Among the characters playing it in the family Brachiosauridae are the upper arm bone being at least close to as long as the thigh bone), and a very flattened femur shaft (ratio ≥1.85).[5]

Species[]

Brachiosaurus altithorax[]

The holotype of both the genus Brachiosaurus and the species B. altithorax, consists of the right upper arm bone, the right thigh bone, the right hip bone, the right shoulder bone, the fused vertebrae of the hip, the last seven trunk and two tail vertebrae, and a number of ribs.[5][6][16] Riggs described the coracoid as from the left side of the body,.[6][12][16] Riggs described the shoulder bone as from the left side of the body,[5][6][12][16] ur". Science 13 (327): 549–550. doi:10.1126/science.13.327.549-a. PMID 17801098.</ref> but restudy has shown it to be a right shoulder bone.

Other assigned species[]

  • "B." atalaiensis: First described by de Lapparent and Zbyszewski,[17] in 2003, it was placed in its own genus Lusotitan by Antunes and Mateus.[18]
  • B." brancai: Found in Africa by Janensch in the Tendaguru site [19] It includes, among other bones, several trunk vertebrae, both shoulder bones, both breastbones, both upper arm bones, both lower arm bones, a right hand, a partial left hand, both hip bones and the right thigh bone. A re-assessment of the relation between the African and American brachiosaur material shows that a separate generic name is warranted for the former, which means that it's now considered to belong to Giraffatitan.[5][7]
  • "B." fraasi: built by Janensch in 1914, but later synonymized with "B." brancai;[20] this material now belongs to Giraffatitan.[5]
  • "B." nougaredi: This species is known from incomplete remains found in the Sahara. de Lapparent, who described and named the material in 1960, said it lived in the Late Jurassic [21] but more recent review assigns it to the early Cretaceous. Upchurch, Barrett and Dodson (2004) doubted its assignment to Brachiosaurus, and listed it as an unnamed brachiosaurid.[1] The hip vertebrae is of notable size, with a length of 51 in for four vertebrae compared to 37 in for five vertebrae in B. altithorax.[21]

Separation from Giraffatitan[]

When describing the brachiosaurid material from Tendaguru in 1914, Janensch listed several differences and similarities between them and B. altithorax.[19] In three more publications in 1929,[20] 1950 [22] and 1961[23] Janensch compared the two species in more detail, listing 13 supposed shared characters.[5] Of these, however, only four appear to be valid, while six pertain to more inclusive groups than Brachiosauridae, and the rest are either hard to judge or refer to material that is not Brachiosaurus.[5]

Brachiosaurus composite Matthew 1915

Diagram incorporating bones of both Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan, by William Diller Matthew, 1915

In 1988, Gregory Paul published a new rebuilding of the skeleton of "B." brancai, pointing out several differences in proportion between it and B. altithorax. Chief among them is a difference in the way the trunk vertebrae vary: they are quite uniform in B. altithorax but vary widely in the African material. Paul thought that the limb and girdle elements of both species were very similar, and so he suggested to separate them not at genus, but only at subgenus level.[7]

Giraffatitan was raised to genus level by Olshevsky without comment.[24] A detailed study of all material, including the limb and girdle bones, by Michael Taylor in 2009 found that there are significant differences between Brachiosaurus altithorax and the Tendaguru material in all elements known from both species. Taylor found 26 distinct osteological (bone-based) characters, a larger difference than that between, e.g., Diplodocus and Barosaurus, and therefore argued that the African material should be placed in its own genus, Giraffatitan, as G. brancai.[5] An important difference between the two genera is the overall body shape, with Brachiosaurus having a 23% longer dorsal (trunk) vertebrate series and a 20 to 25% longer and also taller tail.[5]

Possibly adding further differences between the two species was the description in 1998 of a North American brachiosaurid skull (Carpenter & Tidwell, 1998). This skull, which had been found nearly a century earlier (it is the skull Marsh used on his early reconstructions of Brontosaurus), is identified as "Brachiosaurus sp." and may well belong to B. altithorax. The skull is more camarasaur-like than the distinctive high-crested skull of B. brancai.

Removed species[]

B. alataiensis, described by de Lapparent and Zbyszewski in 1957 has been referred to the new genus Lusotitan (Antunes and Mateus 2003). It is known from back bones (vertebrae), and parts of the hip and limbs, which were recovered in Estremadura, Portugal. It lived about 150 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian age of the Late Jurassic period.[25]

History of discovery[]

PSM V67 D572 Fossil bones of the great brachiosaurus altithorax

Holotype material during excavation. Dorsal vertebrae, sacrum, ilium and ribs are in view.

The genus Brachiosaurus, and type species B. altithorax, are based on a partial postcranial skeleton from Fruita, in the valley of the Colorado River of western Colorado.[26] This specimen was collected from rocks of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation[27] in 1900 by Elmer S. Riggs and his crew from the Field Columbian Museum (now the Field Museum of Natural History) of Chicago.[6] Riggs and company were working in the area as a result of favorable correspondence between Riggs and S. M. Bradbury, a dentist in nearby Grand Junction. In 1899 Riggs had sent inquiries to rural locations in the western United States concerning fossil finds, and Bradbury, an amateur collector himself, reported that dinosaur bones had been collected in the area since 1885.[26] The locality, Riggs Quarry 13, was found on a small hill later known as Riggs Hill; it is marked by a plaque. Additional Brachiosaurus fossils are reported on Riggs Hill, but other fossil finds on the hill have been vandalized.[28][28] Riggs published a short report in 1901, noting the unusual length of the humerus compared to the femur and the extreme overall size and the resulting giraffe-like proportions, as well as the lesser development of the tail, but did not publish a name for the new dinosaur.[6][16] Riggs followed his 1903 publication that named Brachiosaurus altithorax[6] with a more detailed description in a monograph in 1904.[12]

The Fruita skeleton was not the first discovery of Brachiosaurus bones, although it was the first to be recognized as belonging to a new and distinct animal. In 1883, a sauropod skull was found near Garden Park, Colorado, at Felch Quarry 1, and was sent to Othniel Charles Marsh (of "Bone Wars" fame).[5] Marsh incorporated the skull into his skeletal restoration of "Brontosaurus" (now Apatosaurus).[5][29] It eventually became part of the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, as USNM 5730.[5] In the 1970s, when Jack McIntosh and David Berman were working on the issue of the true skull of Apatosaurus, they reevaluated the Garden Park skull as more similar to Camarasaurus.[30] It was described and recognized as a Brachiosaurus skull in 1998 by Kenneth Carpenter and Virginia Tidwell, intermediate in form between Camarasaurus and Giraffatitan brancai (then still considered to be B. brancai).[31] Because there are no overlapping parts between this skull and FMNH P 25107, it cannot be confidently assigned to a species,[5][31] so it is classified as Brachiosaurus sp.[31]

Additional discoveries of Brachiosaurus material in North America have been uncommon and consist of a handful of bones. Material has been described from Colorado,[5][32][33][34] Oklahoma,[5][35] Utah,[5][32] and Wyoming,[5][8] and undescribed material has been mentioned from several other sites.[5][27] One of these specimens, a shoulder blade from Dry Mesa Quarry, Colorado, is one of the specimens at the center of the Supersaurus/Ultrasauros issue of the 1980s and 1990s. In 1985, James A. Jensen described disarticulated sauropod remains from the quarry as belonging to several taxa, including the new genera Supersaurus and Ultrasaurus,[36] the latter renamed Ultrasauros shortly thereafter because another sauropod already had the name.[24] Later study showed that the "ultrasaur" material mostly belonged to Supersaurus, although the shoulder blade did not. Because the holotype of Ultrasauros, a back vertebra, was one of the specimens that was actually from Supersaurus, the name Ultrasauros is a synonym of Supersaurus. The shoulder blade is now assigned to Brachiosaurus, but the species is uncertain.[5][33] In addition, the Dry Mesa "ultrasaur" was not as large as had been thought; the dimensions of the shoulder bone indicate that the animal was smaller than Riggs' original specimen of Brachiosaurus.[5]

Paleobiology[]

Brachiosaurus DB

Life restoration

Feeding ecology[]

Brachiosaurus altithorax

Replica skeleton showing the neck pointing upward, at O'Hare International Airport (formerly housed in the Field Museum)

Brachiosaurus is thought to have been a high browser, feeding on foliage well above the ground. Even if it did not hold its neck near vertical, and instead had a straighter neck, its head height may still have been over 30 ft above the ground.[2][8] It probably fed mostly on foliage above 16 ft. This does not preclude the possibility that it also fed lower at times, between 9.8 to 16 ft up.[2] Its diet likely consisted of ginkgoes, conifers, tree ferns, and large cycads, with intake estimated at 440 to 480 pounds of plant matter daily.[2] However, more recent studies estimate that 530 pounds of plant matter would have been sufficient to feed a 70 metric ton sauropod,[37] so Brachiosaurus may have required only about 260 pounds of fodder a day. Brachiosaur feeding involved simple up–and–down jaw motion. The teeth were arranged to shear material as they closed, and were probably used to crop and/or nip vegetation.[38]

Brachiosaur feeding involved simple up–and–down jaw motion. The teeth were arranged to shear material as they closed, and were probably used to scrape vegetation into the mouth to be swallowed directly without chewing. It has repeatedly been suggested, for example, in the movie Jurassic Park, that Brachiosaurus could rear into a bipedal or tripodal (with tail support) pose to feed. However, a detailed physical modelling-based analysis of sauropod rearing capabilities by Heinrich Mallison showed that while many sauropods could rear, the unusual brachiosaurid body shape and limb length ratio made them exceptionally ill suited for rearing. The forward position of the center of mass would have led to problems with stability, and required unreasonably large forces in the hips to obtain an upright posture. Brachiosaurus would also have gained relatively little from rearing (only 33% more feeding height), compared to other sauropods, for which a bipedal pose may have tripled the feeding height.

Neck position[]

Brachiosaurus cervical BYU 12866

Assigned neck vertebra BYU 12866, BYU Museum of Paleontology

In contrast to most other sauropods, brachiosaurids had a sloped back, due to their long front legs. So, if the neck exited the body in a straight line, it already pointed up.[5][39][40][41] The exact angle is influenced by how the pectoral girdle is reconstructed, that is how the shoulder blades are placed on the ribcage. The mobility of the neck was reconstructed as quite low by Stevens and Parrish, while other researchers like Paul and Christian and Dzemski argued for more flexible necks, it is quite unsure if the neck of the Brachiosaurus was stiff, or flexible.

Nostril function[]

Felch Quarry Brachiosaurus

The fleshy external nostril would have been placed at the front of the nasal fossa, here demarcated by a dashed line.

The nostrils of the Brachiosaurus (like other sauropods, for example the Giraffatitan), the huge corresponding nasal openings in its skull, were long thought to be located on the top of the head. In past decades, scientists theorized that the animal used its nostrils like a snorkel, spending most of its time submerged in water in order to support its great mass. The current consensus view, however, is that the Brachiosaurus was a fully terrestrial animal. Studies have demonstrated that water pressure would have prevented the animal from breathing effectively while submerged and that its feet were too narrow for efficient aquatic use. Furthermore, new studies by Lawrence Witmer (2001) show that, while the nasal openings in the skull were placed high above the eyes, the nostrils would still have been close to the tip of the snout (a study which also lends support to the idea that the tall "crests" of brachiosaurs supported some sort of fleshy resonating chamber).

Metabolism[]

If the Brachiosaurus was endothermic (warm-blooded), it would have taken an estimated ten years to reach full size, if it were instead poikilothermic (cold-blooded), then it would have required over 100 years to reach full size.[42] As a warm-blooded animal, the daily energy demands of Brachiosaurus would have been enormous; it would probably have needed to eat more than ~182 kg (400 lb) of food per day. If Brachiosaurus was fully cold-blooded or was a passive bulk endotherm, it would have needed far less food to meet its daily energy needs. Some scientists have proposed that large dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus were gigantotherms.[43]

Like all sauropods, Brachiosaurus was homeothermic (maintaining a stable internal temperature) and endothermic (controlling body temperature through internal means), meaning that it was able to actively control its body temperature, producing the necessary heat through a high basic metabolic rate of its cells. In the past, Brachiosaurus has been used an example of a dinosaur for which endothermy is unlikely, because of the combination of great size (leading to overheating) and great caloric needs to fuel endothermy. However, these calculations were based on incorrect assumptions about the available cooling surfaces (the large air sacs were not known), and a grossly inflated body mass. These inaccuracies resulted in overestimation of heat production and underestimation of heat loss. The large nasal arch has been postulated as an adaptation for cooling the brain, as a surface for evaporative cooling of the blood. Again, when this was proposed, cooling via the air sacs was not known, and thus not taken into account. Furthermore, other similar sized sauropods had no comparable structure. Additionally, in proportion to the entire animal, the nasal arch is very small, and would thus have made only an insignificant contribution to heat loss.

Paleoecology[]

Morrison Formation Brachiosauridae map

Map showing locations of brachiosaurid remains from the Morrison Formation (gray); 5 (the red dot) is the B. altithorax type locality

With the removal of the East African Giraffatitan, Brachiosaurus is known only from the Morrison Formation of western North America. during the Late Jurassic, an environment that had distinct wet and dry seasons. The Morrison Formation is interpreted as a semiarid environment with distinct wet and dry seasons, and flat floodplains. Vegetation varied from gallery forests (river–lining forests in otherwise treeless settings) of conifers, tree ferns, and ferns, to fern savannas with rare Araucaria-like trees. Several other sauropod genera were present in the Morrison Formation, with differing body proportions and feeding adaptations. Among these were Apatosaurus, Barosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, Haplocanthosaurus, and Supersaurus. Brachiosaurus was one of the less abundant Morrison Formation sauropods, due to its relatively large size, and extensive need for fresh greenery and water. It's thought although if you lived during the Jurassic, you might as well see a herd of these wander by. Brachiosaurus fossils are found only in the lower-middle part of the expansive Morrison Formation (stratigraphic zones 2-4), dated to about 154-153 million years ago, unlike many other types of sauropod which have been found throughout the formation.

Brachiosaurus lived with many other sauropods, and diverse predators such as Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus and the doubted Saurophaganax. Out of all the sauropods in the Morrison, Brachiosaurus tended to be less common than other sauropods like the relatively common Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. Brachiosaurus lumbered through the plains, picking branches off of high canopy tops with their long necks.

JPInstitute.com Description[]

Until recently, Brachiosaurus was the largest known dinosaur, and made famous by the movie "Jurassic Park". It is very tall (40 feet!) and very heavy - more than 12 elephants! Unlike most of the other long-necked dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus was specifically designed to reach high into treetops to gather its meals. It had front legs that were longer than its hind legs which pointed its long neck upward. It had a shorter tail than most other big long-necked dinosaurs.

It is possible that some specimens of Brachiosaurus reached heights exceeding 50 feet and weighed as much as 80 tons; in fact, it may never have stopped growing as long as it lived, which may have been over 100 years! It had, like other typical sauropods, peg-like teeth in a head that seemed very small for such a large creature. Studies about how much these creatures needed to eat and how such a small head could ingest enough food to fuel such a large body have concluded that a full grown Brachiosaurus would have needed to eat 440 pounds (200 kg) of food every day - if it was warm-blooded as many scientists believe. Some scientists have stated that these huge, small-headed creatures would have needed to eat every waking moment in order to provide enough food to keep such a large body alive. Brachiosaurus, like other sauropods, seemed to have every adaptation needed for continuous eating, including having nostrils on the top of its head, so breathing would not interfere with eating.

In order to facilitate the processing of food, which it could not chew with its teeth, Brachiosaurus swallowed stones that the dinosaur kept in its gizzard similar to that found in a chicken. The tough plant fibers would spend time in the gizzard stewing and being ground up by the stones. It probably traveled in herds, the sheer size of the adults protecting the young from predators. This creature is known from two fairly complete skeletons, one of which is on display in Berlin, Germany and the other in Chicago, USA.

Dinosaur Field Guide Description[]

Brachiosaurus ("arm lizard") one of the most spectacular dinosaur ever seen. It gets its name from the great height of its humerus, or upper arm bone--which is longer than most humans are tall! Originally discovered 1900 in Colorado, Brachiosaurus was named in 1903 by Elmer Riggs of the Field Museum in Chicago. For almost a century, Brachiosaurus was considered the tallest of all dinosaurs. It was over 50 feet (15 m) tall, and no other animal came close. Imagine going to the fifth floor of a building an looking down at the sidewalk. Now imagine your feet are at streetlight and this is how call you are! Get the idea? Today, however, there is a new contender for the title of tallest dinosaur. It is Sauroposeidon, named in 2000. Scientists believe it would stand 60 feet (18 m) tall! New studies by computer specialists suggest that Brachiosaurus may not have carried its neck angled up as high as was once thought. It may have carried the neck more at 45 to 60 degree angle. Although this changes its height, it does not change its length--or our wonder at this gigantic, graceful dinosaur.

Fun Facts[]

Brachiosaurus lived in both the United States and Africa during the Jurassic. Because Brachiosaurus would have been a terrible swimmer, this shows scientists that Africa and North America were connected during the Jurassic.

Trivia[]

Brachiosaurus was one of the few dinosaurs that was literally too big to attack!

Gallery[]

Appearance in other media[]

Jurassic Park[]

  • Brachiosaurus is another dinosaur that makes a debut in the sandbox game, Jurassic World Evolution. It can be dug in several North American digsites.
  • Brachiosaurus appears in the game Jurassic World: Alive, as an Epic-class dinosaur, which can be unlockable by darting 150 Brachiosaurus DNA. It's a key recipe in the gigantic superhybrid, Ardentismaxima.


The Land Before Time[]

The Land Before Time X:The Great Longneck Migration, a young green Brachiosaurus named Shorty.


We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story[]

It appears in Your Pet Dinosaur: An Owner's Manual.


Links[]

http://web.archive.org/web/20040214165526fw_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc_brach.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080706160410/http://kids.yahoo.com/dinosaurs/8--Brachiosaurus

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Upchurch, P., Barrett, P.M. & Dodson, P. (2004): "Sauropoda." Pp. 259-322 in Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P. and Osmolska, H. (eds.): The Dinosauria, Second Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN 9780520242098
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Foster, J. (2007). "Brachiosaurus altithorax." Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World. Indiana University Press. pp. 205–208.
  3. ↑ Wedel, M.J. (2003). "Vertebral pneumaticity, air sacs, and the physiology of sauropod dinosaurs." Paleobiology 29:243-255.
  4. ↑ Wedel, M.J. (2003). "The evolution of vertebral pneumaticity in sauropod dinosaurs." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23:344-357.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 Taylor, M.P. (2009). "A re-evaluation of Brachiosaurus altithorax Riggs 1903 (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) and its generic separation from Giraffatitan brancai (Janensh 1914)." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29(3): 787-806.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Riggs, E.S. (1903). "Brachiosaurus altithorax, the largest known dinosaur." American Journal of Science (series 4) 15(88): 299-306.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Paul, G.S. (1988). "The brachiosaur giants of the Morrison and Tendaguru with a description of a new subgenus, Giraffatitan, and a comparison of the world's largest dinosaurs" (pdf). Hunteria 2 (3).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Foster, J.R. (2003). Paleoecological analysis of the vertebrate fauna of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic), Rocky Mountain region, U.S.A.. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 23. Albuquerque, New Mexico: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
  9. ↑ Holtz, T.R. Jr. (2008) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages Supplementary Information
  10. ↑ Colbert, 1962, table on p. 10. Exact figures given are 78.26 tonnes (86.27 short tons).
  11. ↑ Paul, 1988
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Riggs, E.S. (1904). "Structure and relationships of opisthocoelian dinosaurs. Part II. The Brachiosauridae". Geological Series (Field Columbian Museum) 2 (6): 229–247.
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  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Riggs, E.S. (1091). "The largest known dinosaur". Science 13 (327): 549–550. doi:10.1126/science.13.327.549-a. PMID 17801098.
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  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Janensch, W. (1914). "Übersicht über der Wirbeltierfauna der Tendaguru-Schichten nebst einer kurzen Charakterisierung der neu aufgefuhrten Arten von Sauropoden." Archiv fur Biontologie, 3: 81–110.
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  22. ↑ Janensch, W. (1950). "Die Wirbelsäule von Brachiosaurus brancai." Palaeontographica (Suppl. 7) 3:27–93.
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