Apatosaurus Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Apatosaurus excelsius
Apatosaurus ajax
Apatosaurus louisae
Apatosaurus yahnahpin
Animals of the genus Apatosaurus (Jurassic period, about 140 million years ago) were Sauropod dinosaurs, some of the largest land animals that ever existed, about 4.5 m tall at the hips, with a length of up to 25 m. Until recently they were also called Brontosaurus, but the name Apatosaurus is technically correct.
In 1877, Othniel Charles Marsh published notes on his discovery of the Apatosaurus, and then in 1879 described another, more complete dinosaur - the Brontosaurus. In 1903, it was discovered that the Apatosaur was in fact a juvenile Brontosaurus, and the name Apatosaurus, having been published first, was deemed to have priority as the official name; Brontosaurus was relegated to being a synonym. The name was not formally removed from the records of paleontology until 1974.
It has been assumed that the Apatosaurus was living partly in water or swamps because it would have been impossible for it to support its own weight, but recent findings do not support this. In fact like its relative Diplodocus, Apatosaurus was a grazing animal with a very long neck, and a long tail as a counterweight, possibly living in herds as fossilized footprints show. To aid in processing food, Apatosaurus swallowed gizzard stones (gastroliths) the same way many birds do today - its jaws alone were not sufficient to chew tough plant fibers.
Fossils of this animal have been found in Nine Mile Quarry and Bone Cabin Quarry in Wyoming at sites in Utah and in Oklahoma, USA.
Other Apatosaurus species:
- A. ajax - found in Colorado
- A. excelsus (originally "Brontosaurus")
- A. louisae - found in Colorado
- A. yahnahpin - found in Wyoming
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