Dino card No. 0295 of 2,015

Brachiosaurus

Say it: BRAK-ee-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “arm lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Brachiosaurus was a giant, long-necked dinosaur that ate plants. It had front legs that were longer than its back legs, like a giraffe. This helped it reach high into trees to munch on leaves.1

Lived

158 to 143 million years ago2

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming, USA; also Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Germany2

Food

Plants1

Length

18 to 22 m1

Weight

28.3 tonnes to 46.9 tonnes1

for the subadult holotype specimen

Height

9 m1

head height above ground

Artist's life restoration of Brachiosaurus — How Brachiosaurus may have looked, by Nobu Tamura. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Brachiosaurus had front legs that were longer than its back legs, which is unusual for sauropods. This gave it a sloping back like a giraffe.1

It could reach food up to 9 meters (30 feet) off the ground, higher than most other dinosaurs.1

Brachiosaurus had air sacs in its neck and body that made it lighter. These sacs were connected to its lungs.1

The first Brachiosaurus fossil was found in 1900 near Fruita, Colorado, USA. It was named by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903.1

Many pictures of Brachiosaurus are actually based on a different dinosaur called Giraffatitan, which lived in Africa.1

Brachiosaurus lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 155 to 145 million years ago.1

Scientists think Brachiosaurus ate about 200 to 400 kilograms (440 to 880 pounds) of plants every day.1

Myth buster

Myth: Brachiosaurus could rear up on its hind legs like other sauropods.

Truth: Unlike many sauropods, Brachiosaurus was not built to rear up on its hind legs because of its long front legs and short tail.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Brachiosaurus
Named by: Riggs 19032
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Brachiosauridae2
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Macronaria2
Age of the rocks: 158 to 143 million years ()2
Rock formations: Morrison, Tendaguru, Kadzi2
Countries: USA, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Germany2
Fossil records: 20 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Brachiosaurus was discovered in 1900 by Elmer S. Riggs and his crew in the Colorado River valley near Fruita, Colorado. Riggs named it Brachiosaurus altithorax in 1903.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Brachiosaurus was warm-blooded or cold-blooded. Its huge size makes it hard to tell.1

Where the facts come from

Brachiosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Brachiosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.