Dyllan's Dinosaur Pages

Brachiosaurus is the tallest, heaviest and longest dinsaur ever found. It had a long neck and walked slowly on its four legs. The front two legs were longer than the back two. With the two longer front legs and its very long neck, it gave the Brachiosaurus a giraffe-like stance and great height. However it had a realitively short tail. The Brachiosaurus had a claw on the first toe of each front foot, and a claw on the third toe of each rear foot.

The Brachiosaurus were herviore or plant eaters and probably had to eat up to 400 lbs of low-grade of conifer and cycad plant food each day. The Brachiosaurus had chisel-like teeth, but it swalled its food without chewing, and digested the food in it stomach.

This dinosaur had nostrils on top of its head, with large nasil openings. This could have meant that it had a very good sense of smell.

The Brachiosaurus' large size and weight along with it sharp claws probably protected the adults against preditors. The young Brachiosaurus were probably more at risk against preditors.

The Brachiosaurus may have had blood-pressure problems, because of its long neck. It's heart would have needed to be large and powerful to pump blood so far. With its head and brain held high above its heart it may have had blood-pressure over 400mm Mercury, or 3-4 times our blood-pressure. It may have had problems in blood-flow engineering, or a problem getting enough oxygenated blood to its head to operate its brain.

The Brachiosaurus was from the late-Jurassic Period to mid-Cretacious Period, about 153-113 Million years ago, middle of Mesozoic Era, the Age of the Reptiles. It was from the Saurischia order, or order of the lizard-hipped dinosaurs. It was from the Sauropoda intraorder. Sauropodomorpha or large plant eaters, from the family of Brachiosaridae, or family of enormous, long-necked herbivores.

The Brachiosaurs were thought to have traveled in herds. They probably migrated when they had depleted their local food supply. They were hatched from eggs, which may have been dropped as they walked. And they probably didn't take care of their eggs. The Brachiosaurus may have lived to around 100 years of age.

They may have been the largest of the dinosaurs, but their intellegence was the lowest among the dinosaurs. This is in relation to their brain size to body mass. They had a tiny braincase behind their eyes, that held their brain. It was no more than one hundred thousandth the weight of its entire body mass.

Fossils were first found in Grand River Valley, West Colorado, USA in 1990. It was an incomplete skeleton which was named by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903. In 1909, Werner Janensch found a fossil of a Brachiosaurus in Mtwara, Tanzania, Africa. Fossils have been found in the USA, in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. They have also been found in Estremadura, Portugal, Wargla, Algeria, and Mtwara, Tanzania, Africa.

Our Brachiosaurus Activities

• Brachiosaurus Dinosaur Math Puzzle
• Another Brachiosaurus Dinosaur Math Puzzle
• Brachiosaurus Coloring Page
• Brachiosaurus Crossword Puzzle

Other Brachiosaurus Links

• Brachiosaurus US Postal Stamp Issued in 1997 as part of 15 Dinosaur Stamps.

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