Apatosaurus facts for kids

Meet Apatosaurus

Its name means deceptive lizard. Some of its tail bones looked deceptively like a sea reptile's.

Apatosaurus was a giant plant-eater, as heavy as several elephants put together. It was a sauropod about 21 metres long.

Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus

For a long time, many scientists thought Brontosaurus was really the same dinosaur as Apatosaurus. After a study in 2015, experts now think the two are separate after all, though closely related.

What was its tail for?

Apatosaurus had a long, narrow tail that it might have used like a whip.

When did Apatosaurus live?

In the Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago, in what is now North America. It lived at the same time and in the same place as Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus and Allosaurus.

Apatosaurus in a nutshell

• Name means: deceptive lizard
• Lived: about 150 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic
• Ate: plants
• Length: about 21 metres
• Found in: USA
• Lived at the same time as: Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus and Allosaurus

Quick quiz: Apatosaurus

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