Brachiosaurus

This is one of the most famous of Sauropod Dinosaurs, being first discovered in 1900 by Elmer Riggs in the Colorado region of the USA, and being the archetypal 'vertically orientated' (like a Giraffe) Sauropod species. It was also, for many, the lasrgest known species of Dinosaur to science. Now, only relatively recently, newer finds of far larger Sauropods, and even in fact older fragmentary remains of different Sauropods that are being studied to a higher standard revealing perhaps the largest Dinosaur ever, have surpassed Brachiosaurus in the record boks. There have been various sub-species of Brachiosaurus discovered since this large reptile was first found, and there are sites that range all across the Western United States of America. An African form of what was for many years believed to be a kind of Brachiosaurus, has now been reclassified as Giraffatitan brancai (formerly Brachiosaurus Brancai) This is also the animal that is still misrepresented in many sources, as being the largest mounted Dinosaur skeleton in the world - at the Humbolt Museum in Berlin. Many still see it as a Brachiosaurus. In fact, this is an example of a Giraffatitan, once thought to be a Brachiosaurus.

Brachiosaurus, literally means, 'Arm Lizard'. This is of course due to the huge, although proportionally slender front two legs of the Sauropod, which are each standing as tall as a Tyrannosaurus Rex at the shoulder level (5-6 metres tall that is)

Brachiosaurus, was a large animal. Even by Sauropod standards in general, this was once a huge animal in life. At a maximum length of 23-25 metres, and at a maximum height of over 12-13 metres, Brachiosaurus was also rather bulky, thanks somewhat but not entirely due to the vertical orientation of the Sauropod. 'Bulky' actually being a possible 55-70 tonnes. No wonder, then, that it has taken many decades for the Brachiosaurus to be 'beaten' in the records by other Sauropod fossils that are newly found or old and just properly analysed. Still, the ground must have shuddered when Brachiosaurus moved by at the estimated usual 5 mph walking pace - even more so when these animals moved in herds. Indeed, as with essentially all known Sauropods, Palaeontologists have agreed that Brachiosaurus, like all other Sauropods, must have developed herding behaviour. In fact, seeing as Brachiosaurus is a Sauropod from the Late Jurassic, with True Sauropods going back to the Early Jurassic, tens of millions of years before Brachiosaurus evolved, herding behaviour was certainly already a feature of Brachiosaurus' behaviours - as its own ancestors had developed herding behaviour before it. As a herd animal, Brachiosaurus would likely migrate from feeding ground to feeding ground, and less often, from nesting ground to nesting ground. All Sauropods did this. Only the Bull Males would have possibly strayed from the herd at a certain age (all this being very similar to the herding structure of African Elephants) being too large and powerful for the contempory predators of the day, such as Allosaurus, to threaten. These lone males would then only join a herd for one thing; mating. Seasonal mating periods would be relatively short, so, it is logical to suggest that older, larger Bull Male Brachiosaurus, could spend the vast majority of their lives alone, mainly feeding. And, as is suggested for most Sauropods, Brachiosaurus may have had long lives indeed; a good many Palaeontologists agree with the idea that Sauropod Dinosaurs, being so huge and stately, could have lived for over 50-100 years. The larger forms, such as Brachiosaurus, are believed to have been able to live for even longer - some say confidently that 150-250 years old may not have been impossible. It has even been estimated that the metabolism of the Brachiosaurus, actually meant that it would take at least 100 years for an adult reach full size. The nature of the blood of Sauropods like Brachiosaurus, has attracted much debate. If Brachiosaurus was Warm-Blooded (Endothermic) then an individual animal would have required on average, at least 182 kg (400 pounds) of vegetation per day, just to keep alive and have enough of a supply of energy to the meet the huge demand of the energy usage of the animal. On the other hand, if they were Cold-Blooded (Poikilothermic) then the demands on the animal may have been as much as only a mere quarter of that of if the animal was Warm-Blooded (Endothermic)

Brachiosaurus, always has, and probably always will be amongst the most famous of all the Dinosaurs, standing out with its well represented image in the media across the world. Brachiosaurus has been made even more famous, by the Film Industry, with blockbusters such as Jurassic Park (seen in 1 and 3) and Disney's DINOSAUR. This old favourite amongst Dinosaur fans, has also been very well portrayed in the ground-breaking BBC Documentary, Walking With Dinosaurs (1999) where the Brachiosaurus was shown in a Colorado of 152 Million Years BC/BCE.