Apatosaurus

- Other Names: Brontosaurus; Atlantosaurus
- Pronunciation: ah-PAT-uh-SAWR-us
- Translation: Deceptive Lizard
- Order: Saurischia
- Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
- Infraorder: Sauropoda
- Family: Diplodocidae
- Height: 30 feet (9.1 meters)
- Weight: 66,000 lbs (29,937 kg)
- Length: 75 feet (22.9 meters)
- Period: Late Jurassic
- Description: Herbivore, Quadrupedal
- Notes: Apatosaurus is one of the best known of all dinosaurs but usuallyby its more popular name "Brontosaurus". Its 20-foot-long necksupported a rather small head and its brain was about the size of a largeapple. Two low ridges ran the length of its backbone, from the base ofits skull almost to the tip of its tail. These spines supported the ligamentsthat held up the neck and tail. Apatosaurus' 30-foot whip-like tail wasprobably its only means of self-defense. This dinosaur lived in westernNorth America, where most specimens have been recovered.