Brontosaurus
Bron-toe-sor-us
Name meaning: Thunder lizard
Time Period: Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) 156.3–146.8 Mya
Locations: Colorado-Morrison Formation
Taxonomy: Sauropoda-Diplodocidae-Apatosaurinae
Subspecies: B. excelsus B. parvus B. yahnahpin
Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~
Bronotosaurus is a species of dinosaur that almost everyone has heard about, but was invalid for over a century. Between its 3 species, the sizes range from 17-22 short tons and 62 to 75 feet long. The Morrison formation has plenty of species of sauropods like Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Barosaurus, Supersaurus, Kaatedocus, Suuwassea, and Maraapunisaurus. Brontosaurus, like most sauropods it used its large size as its main defense against predators like Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus. Its tail was also long and similar to a whip, around 56% of its body length, and used as a defensive weapon. Brontosaurus' neck was also very robust, likely used in combat between Brontosaurs slamming their necks together like Giraffes.
History & Fossils ~ ~ ~ ~
For around 100 years, the genus was considered an invalid genus. Brontosaurus was discovered during the Bone Wars, a rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. The two had a fierce rivalry and sought to one-up each other constantly, leading to sloppy work and claims that later paleontologists would have to polish, debunk, and remake. Many years later, Elmer Riggs re-examined the femur discovered for Brontosaurus and discovered that it was very similar to Apatosaurus, so the genus Brontosaurus B. excelsus became Apatosaurus A. excelsus. Since it’s material was very similar to Apatosaurus, it would be assumed that most Brontosaurus material was actually for Apatosaurus. A skeletal reconstruction of Apatosaurus was made at the American Museum of Natural History, which was labeled as Brontosaurus, likely the main reason the genus stayed relevant for so long. This same skeleton, which was designed by Henry Fairfield Osborn, also included a custom skull that was inspired by Camarasaurus. Later, an Apatosaurus skull would be found, but Osborn did not want the head mounted on his skeleton, so it remained headless for around 20 years. At the Field Museum of Chicago, the back half of a Brontosaurus skeleton stood from 1908 until 1958 because it lacked funding to be completed. In 2015, A massive study was released on sauropods, and it was found that Brontosaurus was different enough to be a valid genus, but there are 3 different species of it.
Media Deptictions ~ ~ ~ ~
Prehistoric Kingdom added both Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus for the best of both worlds in update 12, along with Ankylosaurus and a new California redwoods map with themed decorations. Brontosaurus has dull spikes on the underside of its neck that may have helped with fighting other sauropods. These were added to help differentiate Brontosaurus from Apatosaurus
