Apatosaurus

#4

by Kyle Morris on October 26, 2021

Apatosaurus gets its name “deceptive lizard” because it was initially thought to be an aquatic reptile, such as a plesiosaur, which is not a dinosaur. It was originally discovered in the Morrison Formation in 1877 by Othniel Charles Marsh, who named it that same year. Specimens of this animal have been found throughout the western United States.

My favorite sauropod, Apatosaurus, was much longer than it was tall, with a long whip-like tail and a long neck that it held out in front.

Apatosaurus

Artist Rendering of Apatosaurus

Apatosaurus stood at around 20–30 feet tall, depending on if it held its head out or up a little. It weighed between 25–30 tons (though some estimates have it being even heavier), and it reached lengths of 70 or more feet.

The Apatosaurus is a very famous dinosaur that has appeared in multiple films, documentaries, and even on stamps. Most recently, it has been featured in both Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Often called “brontosaurus,” this is a common mistake. Brontosaurus, or the “thunder lizard,” was “discovered” two years after Apatosaurus and originally named a separate genus. Although sometime later, and after closer examination, it was decided to classify it as Apatosaurus. In taxonomy, which is the field of science concerned with the classification of living organisms, the name that is coined first gets priority. It is worth noting that research published in 2015, and still ongoing, suggests that brontosaurus was actually a separate animal, although the scientific community doesn’t fully agree on this.

October is “dinosaur month!” Every weekday of this month, you can come back to our Kids site to read about my 20 favorite dinosaurs. I hope you’ll join me!