Facts About Apatosaurus
While the dinosaur world was filled with ferocious predators like the T. Rex or Velociraptor , it had no shortage of peaceful, gentle giants. About 150 million years ago, the mighty Apatosaurus roamed the Earth, standing at about 16 times your height! Read on for lots of fun Apatosaurus facts, as well as lots of other neat information about dinosaurs. Although the Apatosaurus isn’t as famous as other dinosaurs, it was still pretty impressive!
What did the Apatosaurus look like?
Similar to dinosaurs like the Brontosaurus , this Jurassic beast was huge, with a neck that could stretch over 30 feet—five times the length of a giraffe’s neck! Alongside their long neck, they were known for their massive bodies and unique tails. Unlike similar dinosaurs that have a thick, muscular tail to help them balance, the Apatosaurus has a thin tail like a whip. Check out the examples below!
Pretty cool, huh? You might also have noticed its thick legs and tiny head! Its muscular legs were perfect for holding up its enormous body, almost like pillars. Although its head is pretty small compared to its body, it was filled with small teeth that were great for stripping leaves.
While we imagine dinosaurs like Apatosaurus with scaly skin, some scientists think they might have had feathers. Whether they kept these feathers or only had them as babies, scientists also think dinosaurs had different skin textures throughout their life stages. Fascinating!
As the exact appearance of dinosaurs remains uncertain, the images above are provided for illustrative purposes only and have been generated using AI technology.
How big was the Apatosaurus?
As you can probably guess from the image above, the Apatosaurus was quite the giant! It could grow to 23 meters long and weigh around 20-30 tons. In perspective, that’s the length of two buses and the weight of five elephants! Its enormous size made it one of the largest dinosaurs of its time, with the weight to match. Like other large dinosaurs, it probably couldn’t move very fast. However, scientists believe it could move about 10 miles per hour. Although still slow, it’s faster than similar dinosaurs and would be enough to help the Apatosaurus escape danger!
What did the Apatosaurus eat?
As one of the largest herbivores of its time, the Apatosaurus had its pick of all kinds of vegetation. With its long neck, it could easily reach high up into the trees to munch on leaves and other plants that other dinosaurs couldn’t reach. However, it also ate ground plants like ferns or horsetails. Its teeth were small and peg-shaped, allowing them to strip leaves easily from branches. It also might have used its jaw to break off branches and swallow them whole!
Given its huge size, scientists estimate that the Apatosaurus would have needed to eat hundreds of points of plants every day. It’s likely that they spent most of their time While we don’t know exactly how much they might have eaten, it compares to eating over 40 bags of potatoes! Can you imagine how many potatoes that would be?
Where did the Apatosaurus live?
The Apatosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic period in what we now call North America. If you’ve read up on other dinosaurs, you might know that this area was quite different back then from what it is today! The Apatosaurus lived in the parts of North America that now cover Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
While North America was filled with lush forests and fields at the time, those areas specifically were filled with vegetation like ferns, making it the perfect habitat for herbivores like Apatosaurus! Unlike today, the Jurassic Period was warm and humid, sort of like a rainforest.
What killed the Apatosaurus?
It’s difficult for scientists to pinpoint precisely what killed different species of dinosaurs. As the Apatosaurus lived in the Jurassic period, it’s most likely that it went extinct when it ended. The end of this period was caused by an extreme change in the climate, which affected plant life as well as dinosaurs.
Even if the Apatosaurus managed to survive the changing climate, it may not have been able to find enough food and would have needed to fight with other herbivores to eat. The end of the Jurassic period also signalled evolution for some species, meaning the Apatosaurus likely had to fight with new predators or even evolved herbivores.
Fun Facts about Apatosaurus
- The Apatosaurus’s long tail was likely used as a whip to defend against predators.
- Apatosaurus is similar to the Brontosaurus , so it’s no surprise they’re closely related! Scientists once thought they were a part of the same species, but recent studies suggest otherwise.
- Since it needed so much food, the Apatosaurus could eat up to 880 pounds of vegetation daily. That’s like eating 30 bicycles!
- Some scientists believe that the Apatosaurus moved in herds for protection.
- The name Apatosaurus comes from two Greek words, “apatē” and “saurus”, which means deceptive lizard.
- The first fossils of the Apatosaurus were found in 1877 and initially mistaken for a different dinosaur, which is why it was called “deceptive”!
Closing Summary:
While it might not be around today, the Apatosaurus is still an iconic and extraordinary dinosaur with its long neck and incredible size. It might not be as famous as other dinosaurs, but it was one of the most successful and unique creatures of its time, especially with that whip-like tail!
We still don’t know exactly what the tail might’ve been for, but who knows, maybe one day you’ll be a part of figuring it out! Check out our other articles to learn more about dinosaurs and perhaps you can be a dinosaur scientist, too. Or why not check out some of our activities? There’s plenty to learn and explore, so get going!
Apatosaurus Questions & Answers
Let’s see how much you’ve learned from the above blog post! Put your knowledge of the mighty Apatosaurus to the test with this fun quiz. Challenge your memory and understanding of the facts you’ve just discovered, and see how well you know this fascinating dinosaur.
Ready to challenge yourself? Download the questions now and get started! Test your skills and see how much you’ve absorbed about this incredible creature.
