Content deleted Content added
Corrected the years in which Apatosaurus lived and co existed with Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus, Camptosaurus, Allosaurus, Torvosaurus and Ceratosaurus. Tags: Reverted Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
m revert; that contradicts the text |
||
Line 4:
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Late Jurassic]] ([[Kimmeridgian]] to [[Tithonian]]), {{Geological range|
| image = Louisae.jpg
| image_caption = Mounted ''A. louisae'' (specimen CM 3018), [[Carnegie Museum of Natural History]]
Line 19:
}}
'''''Apatosaurus''''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˌ|p|æ|t|ə|ˈ|s|ɔːr|ə|s}};<ref>{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|Apatosaurus}}</ref><ref>{{Dictionary.com|Apatosaurus}}</ref> meaning "deceptive lizard") is a [[genus]] of [[herbivore|herbivorous]] [[sauropod]] [[dinosaur]] that lived in [[Laurentia|North America]] during the [[Late Jurassic]] [[period (geology)|period]]. [[Othniel Charles Marsh]] described and named the first-known species, '''''A. ajax''''', in 1877, and a second species, '''''A. louisae''''', was discovered and named by William H. Holland in 1916. ''Apatosaurus'' lived about
The [[cervical vertebrae]] of ''Apatosaurus'' are less elongated and more heavily constructed than those of ''[[Diplodocus]]'', a [[diplodocid]] like ''Apatosaurus'', and the bones of the leg are much stockier despite being longer, implying that ''Apatosaurus'' was a more robust animal. The tail was held above the ground during normal locomotion. ''Apatosaurus'' had a single [[claw]] on each forelimb and three on each hindlimb. The ''Apatosaurus'' skull, long thought to be similar to ''[[Camarasaurus]]'', is much more similar to that of ''Diplodocus''. ''Apatosaurus'' was a generalized [[browsing (herbivory)|browser]] that likely held its head elevated. To lighten its vertebrae, ''Apatosaurus'' had [[air sacs]] that made the bones internally full of holes. Like that of other diplodocids, its tail may have been used as a whip to create loud noises, or, as more recently suggested, as a sensory organ.
| |||