apatosaurus

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a·pat·o·saur·us

A5379000 (ə-păt′ə-sôr′əs) or a·pat·o·saur (ə-păt′ə-sôr′)n. A very large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur of the genus Apatosaurus of the Jurassic Period, having a long neck and tail and a small head.

[New Latin Apatosaurus, unreal lizard, genus name : Greek apatē, untruth, lie + Greek sauros, lizard.]

a·pat·o·sau·rus

(ə-păt′ə-sôr′əs) or a·pat·o·saur (ə-păt′ə-sôr′) A very large sauropod dinosaur of the late Jurassic Period, having a long neck and tail and a relatively small head. See Note at brontosaurus.

Thesaurus

Noun

apatosaurus - huge quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur common in North America in the late Jurassicapatosaur, Apatosaurus excelsus, brontosaur, brontosaurus, thunder lizardsauropod, sauropod dinosaur - very large herbivorous dinosaur of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having a small head a long neck and tail and five-toed limbs; largest known land animalgenus Apatosaurus, genus Brontosaurus - large quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaurs with very long neck and tail; late Jurassic

Apatosaurus

enUK

Apatosaurus

(ăp'ətəsôr`əs, ā'păt'ə–), [Gr.,=deceptive lizard], quadruped saurischian dinosaurdinosaur
[Gr., = terrible lizard], extinct land reptile of the Mesozoic era. The dinosaurs, which were egg-laying animals, ranged in length from 2 1-2 ft (91 cm) to about 127 ft (39 m).
..... Click the link for more information. , estimated to be from 70 to 90 ft (21 to 27 m) in length and to weigh up to 30 tons (27 metric tons). The similar dinosaur formerly called Brontosaurus [Gr.,=thunder lizard] was reclassified as Apatosaurus after it was determined that the two animals were, in fact, the same. Paleontologist O. C. Marsh named a specimen he uncovered in 1877 Apatosaurus ajax. Marsh discovered parts of a second fossil skeleton in 1879 and, not recognizing it as the same animal, called it Brontosaurus excelsus. When the two animals were determined in the early 1900s to be same, the name Apatosaurus, which was published first, took priority as the valid name. Brontosaurus, however, continued to be used popularly, and it became one of the best known dinosaurs. A 2015 study argued that the animals should be divided into two genera due to differences in the surviving specimens' skeletons and that the name Brontosaurus should be restored.

Apatosaurus had a long, whiplike tail, stout legs, and a long neck. It was herbivorous and dwelled on land, possibly in forests, using its long neck to feed from trees. The eyes and nostrils were located toward the top of the skull. It flourished in the late Jurassic period. Apatosaurus bones and those of other sauropods have long been excavated in the Morrison formation of the late Jurassic and early Cretaceous strata in Colorado, Wyoming, and other Western states. No satisfactory skull specimen has been discovered attached to an Apatosaurus, and for many years an incorrect Camarasaurus-like head was mounted on the famous skeleton on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Apatosaurus is related to Diplodicus and Barosaurus.

Bibliography

See S. J. Gould, Bully for Brontosaurus (1991).

Apatosaurus

[ə‚pad·ə′sȯr·əs] (paleontology) A herbivorous sauropod dinosaur, approximately 70 feet (21 meters) long and weighing 30 tons, from the Jurassic Period that had much longer hindlimbs than forelimbs. Also known as Brontosaurus.

apatosaurus

a·pat·o·saur·us

a·pat·o·sau·rus

Apatosaurus

Apatosaurus

Bibliography

Apatosaurus

apatosaurus

Synonyms for apatosaurus

noun huge quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur common in North America in the late Jurassic

Synonyms

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