APATOSAURUS

PRONUNCIATION:	ah-PAT-uh-SAWR-us
TRANSLATION:	Deceptive Lizard
ALSO KNOWN AS:	Brontosaurus, Atlantosaurus
DESCRIPTION:	Herbivore, Quadrupedal
ORDER:	Saurischia
SUBORDER:	Sauropodomorpha
INFRAORDER:	Sauropoda
MICRO-ORDER:	n/a
SUPERFAMILY:	n/a
FAMILY:	Diplodocidae
HEIGHT:	30 feet (9.1 meters)
LENGTH:	75 feet (22.9 meters)
WEIGHT:	66,000 lbs (29,937 kg)
PERIOD:	Late Jurassic
NOTES:	Apatosaurus is one of the best known of all dinosaurs but usually by its more popular name "Brontosaurus". Its 20-foot-long neck supported a rather small head and its brain was about the size of a large apple. Two low ridges ran the length of its backbone, from the base of its skull almost to the tip of its tail. These spines supported the ligaments that held up the neck and tail. Apatosaurus' 30-foot whip-like tail was probably its only means of self-defense. This dinosaur lived in western North America, where most specimens have been recovered.