Your Cart is Empty
Paleontologists have been studying ancient fossils for years to find out as much as they can about dinosaurs. Two of these, the Apatosaurus and the Brachiosaurus, are known to be two of the most enormous dinosaurs to exist, but which was bigger?
Studies have found that the Brachiosaurus was taller and heavier than the Apatosaurus, so we can assume it was bigger. In modern depictions, however, they look about the same size and share many similarities.
Continue reading to learn more about these fascinating prehistoric creatures. I’ll also give you some information on which dinosaurs were bigger than the Brachiosaurus!
The Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus were both sauropods who lived during the Jurassic period. Sauropods were warm-blooded herbivores with small heads and long necks. They were quadrupedal, or four-footed, dinosaurs and used all four feet to walk and run.
The differences between the Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus were their body structure. It also affected how they ate and the way they moved.
Apatosaurus means 'deceptive lizard.' This giant dinosaur lived in North America about 150 million years ago. It measured about 26 meters (85.3 feet) in length, was roughly 4.5 meters (14.76 feet) tall at the hip, and weighed an average of 18 tons (16,329.3 kg).
Its body was long and slender with a long whip-like tail. It is believed that it used its tail to protect itself from predators. They had short front legs and longer hind legs. Their neck was long, thin, and sloped downward. Because of this, their heads were likely held horizontally, and they would eat plants that were lying low rather than from the tops of trees.
The Brachiosaurus resembled a giraffe in that its front legs were larger than its hind legs. Brachiosaurus means 'arm lizard' and was named this because of its long arms (front legs). It also lived in North America about 153 million years ago. It was about 26 meters (85.3 feet) in length, around 15 meters (49.21 feet) tall, and weighed an average of 25 tons (22,679.6 kg).
It had a shorter tail, and its body was heavy and barrel-like. Its shoulders were set wide, and its neck was long and thick and sloped upward, allowing it to reach the tops of trees to feed on the leaves. This dinosaur would have fed on cycads and coniferous trees.
Both the Apatosaurus and the Brachiosaurus were thought to be two of the largest land animals to have existed, but only one of them could be “the biggest.”
It’s safe to say that the Brachiosaurus was bigger. It was both heavier and taller than the Apatosaurus, and it had a larger body than the lean, slender frame of the Apatosaurus.
It's probably hard to believe that there are dinosaurs more enormous than the Brachiosaurus, but there are! The most giant dinosaurs to exist came from the group called the sauropods.
The Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus belonged to this group, but within this group was a subgroup called the Titanosauria. These were the largest dinosaurs in the world.
Titanosaurs were herbivores that roamed the earth about 66 million to 145 million years ago and lived on every continent.
Some of the titanosaurs that were bigger than the Brachiosaurus were:
It is believed that the Dreadnoughtus was the largest dinosaur to live. Its fossils were found in Argentina, and it likely lived about 77 million years ago. This massive creature was approximately 26 meters (85.3 feet) long, 9 meters (29.52 feet) tall, and weighed about 59 tons (53,523.9 kg). It had a very long neck that allowed it to graze on leaves at the top of trees.
At first glance, you might think the Barosaurus Lentus is the Apatosaurus. These two dinosaurs look similar, but the Barosaurus Lentus is longer, measuring about 26 meters (85.3 feet) in length. The Barosaurus Lentus has a very long neck and a comparatively shorter tail. Like the Apatosaurus, its hind legs were longer than its front legs.
Another dinosaur that lived in Argentina was the Argentinosaurus, also thought to be one of the largest dinosaurs that existed. Since the entire skeleton has not yet been found, it isn't easy to estimate what its size would have been.
But paleontologists have projected that it is likely to have been between 37 - 40 meters (121.39 - 131.23 feet) in length and possibly weighed close to 100 tons (90,718.5 kg). These projections were made by using existing fossils that were found.
Like other dinosaurs belonging to the sauropod group, the Patagotitan Mayorum was a massive animal with a long neck and tail. It is also likely to be one of the largest dinosaurs to have existed, with an estimated weight of around 70 tons (63,502.9 kg). Although the entire skeleton has not been found, paleontologists project that it was about 37 meters (121.39 feet) long.
An interesting fact about this unique dinosaur is how quickly it grew from a relatively tiny baby to a gigantic animal, one of the world's largest. At birth, the Rapetosaurus was about the size of a human baby but quickly grew to about 16 meters (52.49 feet) within a few months.
Another remarkable thing about the Rapetosaaurus is that the juveniles didn't require much help from their parents and were able to fend for themselves soon after birth.
The Rapetosaurus, like other sauropods, has a long neck and tail, but what sets it apart were its legs that resembled that of an elephant. Its fossils were discovered in Madagascar, and it was believed to have lived about 70 million years ago.
The study of dinosaurs is an ongoing process, but research indicates that the Brachiosaurus is bigger than the Apatosaurus. It is heavier, with long front legs and an upright neck allowing it to reach leaves at the very top of trees.
The Apatosaurus, on the other hand, was lighter and had a slender body with a long neck and long tail. These dinosaurs likely fed on low-lying plants and kept their heads at a horizontal level.
While these two dinosaurs were massive, other members of the Titanosaurs group surpassed them in size.
