Apatosaurus

The neck of the Apatosaurus had 15 long vertebrae and his tail made up over half the length of his body. Because he consumed plants (probably leaves from tree-tops), it is likely that he also ate rocks that helped grind up the leaves while in his stomach. The stomach and the general center of gravity of the creature was forward of the hind legs which means that he walked around on all four feet. Even so, he could likely rear up on his hind legs to reach especially high fodder.

Being a Sauropod, put the Apatosaurus firmly in the class of giants that roamed the Earth during the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic era, some 150 million years ago. Because of his diet, the Apatosaurus likely inhabited forested areas. His food may even have included pine-needle like leaves that no other grazing animal consumes today. Fossils of the Apatosaurus have been found mainly in western North America.

The name, "Apatosaurus", means "deceptive lizard". This is not because the lumbering giant was deceptive in his daily life, but because paleontologists had a tough time figuring out his exact structure once they started gathering bones. The main problem was with the head. Since the most complete skeleton was found without a skull and there were many other dinosaur bones found nearby, no one could quite make out which would quite fit. Some thought its head was like that of the Camarasaurus and others thought it was like the Diplodocus. Ultimately, no one is exactly certain, but most scientists agree that the Diplodocus head, which is elongated, and better suited to the animal, is the most likely.

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W.J. Rayment

Interesting Link: Apatosaurus Woodkit

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