Apatosaurus was actually a giant dinosaur, also known as Brontosaurus. It was a member of the sauropod dinosaurs. This dinosaur was a herbivore, meaning that its diet consisted mainly of leaves and other plant material. However, it did not chew its food, but had stones called gastroliths in its stomach that helped it digest food. It lived about 150 million years ago in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Mexico. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is considered one of the largest land animals to ever walk the planet. It was 75 feet long and weighed 50,000 pounds. It had a long neck and a tail, but it had a small head. Its teeth were like chisels that could quickly remove leaves from branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1887, Othniel Charles Marsh gave it the scientific name Apatosaurus ajax. The name Apatosaurus means \"deceptive lizard\" because its bones resembled those of other dinosaurs, particularly Mosasaurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hatchlings and young apatosaurs were able to run on their hind legs to keep away from predators. Adult Apatosaurus also walked on all fours although they were slow moving due to their heavy weight. They could also move their tails like whirlwinds and made snapping sounds by whipping them at high speed. It had a small head compared to its overall size, not very intelligent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, it laid huge eggs up to 30 cm wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually, when Apatosaurus was attacked, it swung its long whiplike tail from side to side or stomped on the carnivore to protect itself.
Young Apatosaurs had this simple brown, purple or gray color, sometimes even creamy yellow or mauve, when in their adult size they have diamond-shaped spots on their back, usually a darker color than the rest of their body.
Definitely. Like all dinosaurs, Apatosaurus laid eggs and they were enormous in size.
Apatosaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur, feeding mainly on low plants, but its long neck may have allowed it to eat soft leaves from taller trees; it may have eaten ferns, cycadeoids, seed ferns, horsetails, and algae.