Brachiosaurus

## *Brachiosaurus altithorax*

> *This is Brachiosaurus, a 13-meter high sauropod that specializes in grazing on the treetops like a giraffe.*
>
> Narrator, describing *Brachiosaurus*, Survival of the Biggest

***Brachiosaurus*** (name meaning "*Arm Lizard*") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that originated during the Late Jurassic period in what is now North America, Africa, and Europe. Named for the large bones of its foreleg and among the most iconic dinosaurs of all time, *Brachiosaurus* stood 13 meters tall, measured 23 meters long, and weighed 70 tons, making it one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered. It was an enormous sauropod that fed on the tops of Conifer trees, sometimes felling them with their sheer bulk if they were taller than them or not.

In the Series 1 episode "*Survival of the Biggest*", several *Brachiosaurus* were encountered in Jurassic Colorado, 150 million years ago, and were subsequently survived by predators.

## Facts

### Era & Discovery

Arguably the largest animal in its ecosystem, *Brachiosaurus* lived in North America, Africa, and Europe during the Late Jurassic period to Early Cretaceous period from 153 – 135 million years ago. It lived alongside other sauropods and other herbivores as well as predators like *Allosaurus*.

*Brachiosaurus* was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 and was arguably the largest living land animal of its day. 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*". Since then, *Brachiosaurus* has become among the most famous and iconic dinosaurs in the world.

### Physical Attributes

A gargantuan sauropod dinosaur that specialized in grazing on the treetops, thanks to an exclusive diet, monopolizing on the tops which "*no other dinosaurs can reach*", an adult *Brachiosaurus* grew to stand between 34 – 52 feet (10 – 16 m) tall (the height of a three-story structure), measured 61 – 82 feet (18 – 25 m) long (the length of two buses), and weighed over 40 – 70 tons (80,000 – 140,000 lbs.; more than 10 adult elephants and Mammoths, give or take), making them the largest land animals in North America and one of the largest animals that ever existed.

*Brachiosaurus* is the archetypal giant dinosaur of the Jurassic alongside the giant Diplodocidae genus *Diplodocus*. *Brachiosaurus*, though once the largest dinosaur ever known for decades, has some many years ago now been relegated - far surpassed by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs like *Argentinosaurus*. Nevertheless, *Brachiosaurus* was a mighty, majestic and awe-inspiring dinosaur, as famous now as it has been for decades. Its name means, *Arm Lizard*, in reference to its and its whole families peculiar trait of having longer forelimbs - or 'arms' - than hindlimbs.

Named for the large bones of its forelegs, this dinosaur was an enormous sauropod. *Brachiosaurus* held its neck in a vertical position and was adapted to live on land, with similarities to a Giraffe, browsing in treetops. Its peg-like teeth were used to strip leaves from the high branches. Unlike many of its sauropod relatives, *Brachiosaurus* had very long forelegs, indicating that its neck was held in a more vertical position.

### Behavior & Traits

Like all sauropods and other herbivorous dinosaurs, *Brachiosaurus* lived and traveled in herds. The juveniles and even adolescents often separated themselves from the herd. And if they were ever threatened by predators, such as *Allosaurus*, there was always an adult nearby to help. Their kind could effortlessly harvest cones and fresh leaves no other dinosaur could reach. And they had grown enormous on it. These giants were feeding almost constantly to sustain its enormous bulk.

They fed on the tops of Conifer trees in the Late Jurassic forests, sometimes felling them with their sheer bulk if they were taller than them or not. They fed on all kinds of trees due to the teeth they had (chisel-like) were not much sought after by anything else around; tough Conifer leaves and cones. *Diplodocus,* for instance, could only strip the soft ferns and cycads with their weak and simple peg-like teeth.

## Trivia

* *Brachiosaurus* is the second-largest sauropod dinosaur, as well as the largest Jurassic dinosaur, brought to the museum.
	+ While *Brachiosaurus* may no longer be the largest dinosaur ever known, it is still the largest dinosaur ever discovered in North America.
* The sound effects of *Brachiosaurus* are that of donkey, cow, elephant, giraffe, horse, and moose sound effects.