Dinosaur - Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus Fossil
Brachiosaurus
Of all the dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus was
the tallest. It's name means '
arm lizard.' Unlike most of its neighbors, Brachiosaurus' front legs were longer than its hind legs (so it's easy to tell the difference between him and, say,
Apatosaurus.) This didn't stop it from walking on
all four legs.
When You're This Big They Call You Brachiosaurus
When you're this big there's
nothing to fear - except maybe heights. Healthy adults probably had
no predators. The largest known meat-eaters during the Jurassic period when Brachiosaurus roamed were Allosaurus, Ceratosaurus and Torvosaurus. These dinosaurs weren't even half the size of a Brachiosaurus. They probably
picked on easier targets like
Stegosaurus. Its unusual front legs and long neck made Brachiosaurus sorta look like a
giraffe except this dino was up to 50 feet (16 meters) tall. The other
dinosaurs must have looked like
ants to these guys. It was about 85 feet (26 meters) long, including its tail.
Brachiosaurus - Mystery Dino
There is a lot of info about dinosaurs we still don't know including whether or not Brachiosaurus spent most of the time in water. Some scientists think the shape of each foot wouldn't support such a heavy animal in the mud. Other scientists believe the large nostrils on top of its head helped it to breathe better when swimming. Most evidence suggests Brachiosaurus were land animals.Brachiosaurus also had five toes on every foot with fleshy pads, which is weird cuz most reptiles only have four toes.
Brachiosaurus - Back From the Dead
The first Brachiosaurus fossil was found in Grand River Valley, western Colorado in 1900. It was an incomplete skeleton but the paleontologist who discovered it, Elmer Riggs, named his new find Brachiosaurus in 1903. In 1909 another man found several Brachiosaurus fossils in Tanzania, Africa. Since then Brachiosaurus fossils have been found in North America and Africa.
Related Stories:
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Triceratops as Pets
Velociraptor
More Dangerous Dinosaurs!