Sauropod dinosaur genus from the late Jurassic Period
Not to be confused with Branchiosaurus.
Brachiosaurus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian), 154–150 Ma
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Reconstructed replica of the holotype skeleton outside the Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
Saurischia
Clade:
†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:
†Sauropoda
Clade:
†Macronaria
Clade:
†Titanosauriformes
Family:
†Brachiosauridae
Genus:
†Brachiosaurus Riggs, 1903
Species:
†B. altithorax
Binomial name
†Brachiosaurus altithorax
Riggs, 1903
Brachiosaurus (/ˌbrækiəˈsɔːrəs/) is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 154to 150million years ago.[1] It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Colorado River valley in western Colorado, United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax; the generic name is Greek for "arm lizard", in reference to its proportionately long arms, and the specific name means "deep chest". Brachiosaurus is estimated to have been between 18 and 22 meters (59 and 72 ft) long; body mass estimates of the subadult holotype specimen range from 28.3 to 46.9 metric tons (31.2 to 51.7 short tons). It had a disproportionately long neck, small skull, and large overall size, all of which are typical for sauropods. Atypically, Brachiosaurus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs, which resulted in a steeply inclined trunk, and a proportionally shorter tail.
Brachiosaurus is the namesake genus of the family Brachiosauridae, which includes a handful of other similar sauropods. Most popular depictions of Brachiosaurus are in fact based on Giraffatitan, a genus of brachiosaurid dinosaur from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. Giraffatitan was originally described by German paleontologist Werner Janensch in 1914 as a species of Brachiosaurus, B. brancai, but moved to its own genus in 2009. Three other species of Brachiosaurus have been named based on fossils found in Africa and Europe; two are no longer considered valid, and a third has become a separate genus, Lusotitan.
The type specimen of B. altithorax is still the most complete specimen, and only a few other specimens are thought to belong to the genus, making it one of the rarer sauropods of the Morrison Formation. It is regarded as a high browser, possibly cropping or nipping vegetation as high as 9 meters (30 ft) off the ground. Unlike other sauropods, it was unsuited for rearing on its hindlimbs. It has been used as an example of a dinosaur that was most likely ectothermic because of its large size and the corresponding need for sufficient forage, but more recent research suggests it was warm-blooded. Among the most iconic and initially thought to be one of the largest dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus has appeared in popular culture, notably in the 1993 film Jurassic Park.
^D'Emic, Michael D.; Carrano, Matthew T. (April 2020). "Redescription of Brachiosaurid Sauropod Dinosaur Material From the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Colorado, USA". Anatomical Record. 303 (4): 732–758. doi:10.1002/ar.24198. ISSN 1932-8494. PMID 31254331. S2CID 195765189.
Atypically, Brachiosaurus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs, which resulted in a steeply inclined trunk, and a proportionally shorter tail. Brachiosaurus is...
as a species of the North American sauropod Brachiosaurus from the Morrison Formation, as Brachiosaurus brancai. Recent research shows that the differences...
used for the Brachiosaurus sounds, although scientific evidence showed that the real animal had limited vocal abilities. Brachiosaurus appears again...
BYU 9462), actually belonged to Brachiosaurus, possibly a large specimen of Brachiosaurus altithorax. The Brachiosaurus bones indicate a large, but not...
and Georges Zbyszewski named the remains as a new species of Brachiosaurus: Brachiosaurus atalaiensis. The specific name referred to the site Atalaia....
Brachiosauridae included Brachiosaurus and some other suggestively assigned genera. Following the generic separation of Brachiosaurus species into B. altithorax...
Apatosaurus, a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from North America Brachiosaurus, a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from North America Brontosaurus...
Well-known genera include Apatosaurus, Argentinosaurus, Alamosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Mamenchisaurus. The oldest known unequivocal...
in a river delta. Extrapolations based on the more completely known Brachiosaurus indicate that the head of Sauroposeidon could reach 16.5–18 m (54–59 ft)...
Backyard Oct. 17, 2010 Jan. 4, 2010 Dromaeosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Baby Brachiosaurus/Stygimoloch, Brachiosaurus The Chicken or the Dino: When Dan's class studies...
menagerie of other taxa such as the sauropods Diplodocus, Barosaurus, and Brachiosaurus; herbivorous ornithischians Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus, and Nanosaurus;...
Werner (1950). "Die Skelettrekonstruktion von Brachiosaurus brancai" [The Skeleton Reconstruction of Brachiosaurus brancai] (PDF). Palaeontographica. Suplement...
dominated by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs, such as Apatosaurus, Barosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Camarasaurus. Its great size may have been a deterrent...
was slated for another voice role in Dinosaur (2000) as a young male Brachiosaurus named Sorbus who, despite his gigantic stature, was frightened of heights...
The skull of Apatosaurus was confused with that of Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus until 1909, when the holotype of A. louisae was found, and a complete...
up". Skya (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) is an orange Craneosaur — half Brachiosaurus and half construction crane. She is described as tough, strong, and...
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