Image: Brachiosaurus altithorax

Description: Brachiosaurus altithorax sauropod dinosaur (cast of holotype skeleton + reconstructed missing parts) from the Jurassic of Colorado, USA (mount owned by Field Museum of Natural History & on display at O'Hare Airport's Terminal B in Chicago, Illinois, USA). Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha, Brachiosauridae Stratigraphy: Brushy Basin Member, Morrison Formation, Upper Jurassic Locality: Riggs Hill, near Fruita, western Colorado, USA Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial animals ever. They all have the same basic body plan: large body with four walking legs, very long neck & tail, and a small head relative to body size. Sauropods were herbivores, and are often perceived as holding their heads & necks up high to reach vegetation normally out of reach to other organisms. Modern reconstructions of many sauropod species depict them with heads and necks held close to the horizontal, or at low angles above the horizontal.
Title: Brachiosaurus altithorax
Credit: Brachiosaurus altithorax sauropod dinosaur (Morrison Formation, Upper Jurassic; Riggs Hill, near Fruita, western Colorado, USA) 1
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes