Known also as the thunder lizard because it is thought the ground must have shaken as it walked, brontosaurus was a plant eating dinosaur that was longer than a tennis court.   Best known of the dinosaurs,  brontosaurus has now been renamed apatosaurus as this was the first name given to fossils of this species.  It belonged to a group of dinosaurs which all had extremely long necks and even longer tails.  They were known as dipodocids.

Diet: The huge brontosaurus was a peaceful plant eater, that browsed on the lush vegetation of its environment.  Despite its weak jaws ad small, peg like teeth, it ate all but the toughest water plants and ferns.  Its long neck enabled it to reach the upper leaves of tall plants. The plants that the  brontosaurus fed on took a long time to digest.  One possible explanation of why it grew so big is that it needed a large stomach in which to store its food while it was digesting.

Enemies: Despite its size, the brontosaurus fell prey to the many larger meat eating dinosaurs. Its slow speed and small teeth, along with its lack of protective plates and sharp spines, make it easy prey.  The brontosaurus's principal defense was it tail.  Controlled by powerful muscles, it was used as an extremely effective wipe.  The brontosaurus also had a sharp claw on the inside of each front foot which, with the dinosaur standing on its hind legs, could be used in attack.

Breeding: Several fossilized brontosaurus nests have been found, each continuing approximately five eggs. It is likely that it laid several clutches a year.  The 12 eggs had rough, bumpy shells and were most  likely deposited in shallow low pits and then covered with soil.

Habitat: Brontosaurus lived in a mild climate that had plenty of warm rain and sunshine, providing perfect conditions for flourishing plant life.  For many years, paleontologists (fossil experts) thought that brontosaurus lived in arid areas near bodies of water, such as swamps.  But today it is believed that it would have gotten stuck in the muddy areas around the water's edge, and that the water's weight on its body when submerged would have kept it from breathing.

Key Facts: 

Height:: 15 feet to shoulder
Weight: 30 tons
Length: 65 ft, head to tip of tail

Breeding:
Mating Unknown, but probably laid several clutches per year,
No of Eggs: 5 per clutch
Incubation: Unknown
Diet: All vegetation except for the very toughest.
Habit: Not known whether solitary or gregarious, but it is thought to have been a common species.
Related Species: Other sauropods include Diplodocas, which , at over 100 ft, was the longest of all the long necked browsing dinosaurs.  The largest was Brachiosaus, which was 3 times heavier than brontosaurus.
Where and when they lived: All the fossils of brontosaurus have been found in the western United States in deposits dating from the jurassic and Cretaceous periods.  The jurassic began some 200 millions years ago and was followed by the Cretaceous, which dates from about 135 -60 million years ago.  Brontosaurus probably evolved in the late Jurassic around 150 million years ago and died out  at the end of the Cretaceous period.

Did you know:

Brontosaurus weighed as much as six elephants.
Some experts believe that brontosaurus has two brains, one in its head and ones in its hips. This configuration would reduce the time needed to send messages from its head to tail, 65 feet away.
It is estimated that  brontosaurus ate half a ton of vegetation a day.
It was once though that brontosaurus lived in water to support its weight.
The brontosaurus had warmer blood than the smaller dinosaurs.
To return to animal menu click here