One of the largest dinosaurs, the brachiosaurus was 82 feet long and tall enough to look in a five-story building. It probably weighed as much as 62 tons. It moved slowly and ate plants, and its front legs were longer than its back ones—similar to a giraffe.
Fun Facts
- Brachiosaurus means arm lizard.
- This dinosaur lived in the Late Jurassic period, 155 to 150 million years ago.
- It was found in the U.S. and Tanzania in 1903.
- Many scientists believe the Brachiosaurus was warm-blooded. It might have had a slow metabolism to help it regulate its body temperature.
- For many years, scientists thought the Brachiosaurus was the largest of the sauropods, in recent years, larger dinosaurs have been found.
- Scientists also believed the Brachiosaurus lived in water. Scientists today don’t think this is true. Brachiosaurus had porous, air-filled bones, which would have made it float in water.
- The Brachiosaurus had to eat a huge amount of food—as much as 80 tons. Its teeth could strip leaves from plants and trees, but could not shred them. The dinosaur swallowed food whole.
- Brachiosaurus probably traveled in herds, stripping vegetation and then moving on.
- The Brachiosaurus probably didn’t stand on its hind legs.
Learn More
Read about Brachiosaurus.
