Description
Apatosaurus Sauropod Tibia from the left rear leg
Apatosaurus meaning “deceptive lizard” was a large, long-necked, quadrupedal dinosaur with a long, whip-like tail. It is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period. Apatosaurus lived about 152 to 151 million years ago, during the late Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian age, and are now known from fossils in the Morrison formation of modem-day Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah in the United States. Apatosaurus had an average length of 21-22.8 m (69-75 ft), and an average mass of 16.4-22.4 tons. The tail was held above the ground during normal locomotion. Apatosaurus had a single claw on each forelimb and three on each hindlimb. Apatosaurus was a generalized browser that likely held its head elevated. To lighten its vertebrae, Apatosaurus had air sacs that made the bones internally full of holes. Like that of other diplodocids, its tail may have been used as a whip to create loud noises. This specimen was found in the Morrison Formation of Laycee Wyoming. R dates back to the Cretaceous period 155 Million yrs ago.
