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Revision as of 19:10, 7 September 2020
Brachiosaurus is a genus of giant sauropod brachiosaurid dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period in what is now North America.
Facts
As 13-15-meter-high sauropods that specialized in grazing on the treetops, Brachiosaurus could effortlessly harvest cones and fresh leaves no other dinosaur can reach. These giants were feeding almost constantly to sustain its enormous bulk. And they had grown enormous on it. These dinosaurs, standing nearly 40–50 ft. tall, were as tall as a three to four story building, measuring 90 ft. long, as long as two buses, and weighing 70 tons, they where enormous sauropods, thus making them the largest land animals that have ever existed, at least of their time. Brachiosaurus was one of the tallest dinosaurs. At 12–15 meters high and 24–27 meters long, and 40-55 tons, Brachiosaurus was one of the most massive animals in the Late Jurassic period (153-135 MYA). For a while, it was considered the biggest prehistoric animal on Earth, but this title belongs to its cousins the titanosaurs and possibly the Diplodocoids (Brachiosaurus itself belonged to the brachiosauruid brach of the sauropod family). However, Brachiosaurus was the largest animal that ever walked North America.
Brachiosaurus hatchlings came from eggs the size of a football. When adolescents separated themselves from the herd, they were vulnerable to attack. But the advantage to being a member of the herd was that there is always an adult nearby to help.
Named for the large bones of its forelegs, this creature was an enormous sauropod. Brachiosaurus held its neck in a vertical position and was adapted to live on land with similarities to a modern giraffe. Like most sauropod dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus was a quadrupedal animal with a small skull, a long neck, a long, muscular tail and slender, columnar limbs. The skull had a robust, wide muzzle and thick jaw bones, with spoon–shaped teeth. As in Giraffatitan, there was an arch of bone over the snout and in front of the eyes that encircled the nasal opening, although this arch was not as large as in its relative. Large air sacs connected to the lung system were present in the neck, invading the vertebrae and ribs, greatly reducing the overall density. Unusually for a sauropod, the forelimbs were longer than the hind limbs.
The humerus (upper arm bone) of Brachiosaurus was relatively lightly built for its size, measuring 2.04 meters (6.7 ft) in length in the type specimen. The femur (thigh bone) of the type specimen was only 2.03 meters (6.7 ft) long. Unlike other sauropods, Brachiosaurus appears to have been slightly sprawled at the shoulder joint, and the ribcage was unusually deep.
A Brachiosaurus treading past another Brachiosaurus browsing. (Time of the Titans)
Because "Brachiosaurus" brancai (Giraffatitan) is known from much more complete material than B. altithorax, most size estimates for Brachiosaurus are actually for the African form. There is an additional element of uncertainty for North American Brachiosaurus because the most complete skeleton appears to have come from a sub-adult. Over the years, the mass of B. altithorax has been estimated as 35.0 metric tons (38.6 short tons), 43.9 metric tons (48.4 short tons), and, most recently, 28.7 metric tons (31.6 short tons). In the first and last cases, the authors also provided estimates for Giraffatitan, and found that genus to be somewhat lighter (31.5 metric tons (34.7 short tons) for Paul [1988] and 23.3 metric tons (25.7 short tons) for Taylor [2009]). The length of Brachiosaurus has been estimated at 26 meters (85 ft), making them among the largest land animals that have ever existed in North America.
In Walking with... Series
A Brachiosaurus bathing in a lake. (The Ballad of Big Al)
Walking with Dinosaurs
Time of the Titans
A Brachiosaurus was seen treading past a creche of Diplodocus on the open prairies. The Brachiosaurus then walked past another one of its genus who was browsing on the treetops.
The Ballad of Big Al
Brachiosaurus appeared several times as a background animal. One notable appearance was when a Brachiosaurus was seen bathing in a lake.
Walking with Monsters
Clash of Titans
Brachiosaurus was seen at the end of the episode in the Jurassic landscape. The scene shown in the episode was stock footage from Time of the Titans.
Walking with Dinosaurs: Inside Their World
Brachiosaurus is one of the dinosaurs featured in this app.
Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular
Brachiosaurus is one of the characters in the live show.
In Related Media
Extreme Dinosaurs
Read more at the Extreme Dinosaurs Wiki
The Brachiosaurus model used in WWD appears in the Horizon special, expect recolored green.
Jurassic Park
Read more at the Jurassic Park Wiki
Trivia
- Brachiosaurus is the largest dinosaur to appear in Walking with Dinosaurs. It is also the tallest dinosaur in the programmes.
Gallery
