Ask aDino Field Guide ← Jurassic

Artist's reconstruction · realistic art coming in a later version

Brachiosaurus

BRACK-ee-uh-SOR-us

“Arm Lizard”

Jurassic
When
Late Jurassic
Where
North America
Size
Up to 40 ft tall
Diet
Plants only

7 Facts

1–7
  1. Brachiosaurus held its head up high like a giraffe, instead of sweeping it low like most long-necks.
  2. Its name means “Arm Lizard” because its front legs were longer than its back legs — unusual for a dinosaur.
  3. It could reach leaves up to 40 feet off the ground, about as high as a four-story building.
  4. It weighed somewhere between 30 and 50 tons — heavier than a loaded semi-truck.
  5. It swallowed leaves whole without chewing, letting its giant stomach do the work.
  6. Scientists once thought its nostrils sat on top of its head so it could breathe while underwater — but we now know it lived on land.
  7. It lived in the Late Jurassic, around 150 million years ago, in what is now the western United States.