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Description
Brontosaurus excelsus

The sauropods were truly the most awe-inspiring of all dinosaurs that walked the planet. And bar-none, the most famous of them all was the Jurassic icon, Brontosaurus.

Description:

A member of the diplodocids, these were the most numerous sauropods from Jurassic North America. Brontosaurus was actually on the average to small size for a sauropod. Just breaking the 70ft mark, and estimates range from 16-20 tons for an average individual.

Teeth and Diet:

Their teeth were indicative of browsing off of conifers and tree ferns. Their feeding method would have consisted of unilateral branch stripping. Clamping down with their peg-like teeth and pulling up or down to get a clump of foliage in their jaws. Following that, they would have swallowed it whole and left it to be digested in their gut, broken down through smaller stones called gastroliths. A recent study indicates that diplodocids like Brontosaurus would have had their teeth replaced throughout their lifetimes. Going through an entire set in around 35 days.

Habitat and Contemporaries:

An inhabitant of the Morrison Formation from the Rockies and parts of the Plains, Brontosaurus was one of many sauropod species thriving in the region. The environment of the Morrison was floodplains and conifer forests with a wet and dry season respectively. Being lush and vibrant during the wet season with a series of rivers running through it, and an arid scrub/savannah-like environment during the dry season. Its cousins, Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and Supersaurus are just a handful of diplodocids it co-existed with. Brontosaurus was the most successful genus of diplodocid, existing for almost 10,000,000 years. Among the other iconic dinosaurs, it lived alongside would be the armored Stegosaurus, swift and lithe ornithopods like Nanosaurus and Dryosaurus, and distantly related macronian sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus.
In terms of predators, juveniles would have been at risk to smaller theropods like Ornitholestes and Stokesosaurus. The larger carnivores, Ceratosaurus, Allosaurus, and Torvosaurus would have been the primary apex predators in the region. Preying upon more mature animals. One theory has posited that these dinosaurs would "flesh-graze" from the flesh of these sauropods. They would run to the flanks or belly of the sauropods and strip off chunks of flesh. The sauropod would survive and provide more flesh later on after it healed.

Historical Depictions:

In older depictions, they were shown as semi or fully aquatic animals. Grazing off the plant life in prehistoric lakes and river systems. Since their bulk was believed to be too great to walk on land and it was believed they had a sprawled posture.
Early paleontologists pointed to the fact that the nasal openings were positioned near the top of the head. However, by the 1950s, questions were raised about this lifestyle. For one, even if they had the nostrils at the top of the skull, the torso being submerged so far below would create a pressure difference that could collapse their lungs.
Furthermore, studies during the late 60s and into the 80s, analysis of the limbs showed that their limbs were not positioned sprawled to the side, but in fact, positioned directly under the torso.
Finally, in the early 2000s, it was found that the nostrils were not on the top of the head, but in fact, near the front of the head, drawing from conclusions as scientists have seen this on living archosaurs (birds and crocodilians).

Modern Depictions:

In modern depictions, they are shown as active, (possibly) warm-blooded animals, fully terrestrial land herbivores.
A common depiction has been showing them rearing up on their hind legs and using their tail as a prop. Studies from the related Diplodocus as well as various attributes from their skeletons actually support this theory.
-For one the center of mass on diplodocids was located near the hips meaning it could have been easier for them to rear back on their hind limbs.
-Furthermore, the tail vertebra has specialized attributes which have been posited as another indication that allowed them to rear.
-Finally, it could have doubled their feeding capabilities if they did this.

Herding Behavior:

Brontosaurus and its kin have also been depicted as social animals. Trackways found from related sauropods do support herding behavior. Recent studies focusing on Diplodocid trackways have posited these dinosaurs lived in age-segregated herds with Juveniles and animals of similar ages living together and the same goes for the adults.

Apato to Bronto, a classification and naming conundrum:

In recent years, this sauropod has had a resurgence in popularity since it was discovered that this animal was in fact a distinct species of sauropod. After more than a century of it being a synonym of its cousin, Apatosaurus.

Brontosaurus was discovered during the dawn of the infamous Bone Wars. The paleontological feud between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. In 1879, Marsh announced the discovery of a new species of sauropod recovered from Wyoming. He gave it a name that would be one of the most iconic binomial names for an organism, "Brontosaurus excelsus". The genus name means "Thunder Lizard" and species name means "noble", so "Noble Thunder Lizard". The description was brief, as Marsh and Cope often rushed to name as many species as possible during this time. The differences he pointed to justify the species validity was the hip bone (sacrum) was structured differently compared to other sauropods.
Then, in 1903, Paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs re-examine the material that Marsh described and compared it to another one of Marsh's sauropods, Apatosaurus. In an editorial published by the Field Museum in Chicago, Riggs stated that the differences that Marsh noted to justify Brontosaurus were not enough to warrant its own taxon. Apatosaurus was described in 1877, and Brontosaurus in 1879, so Riggs synonymized the animals and since it was discovered first, Apatosaurus had priority, and thus, the species became "Apatosaurus excelsus". Thus, it seemed Brontosaurus would be confined to the dustbin of taxonomic mishaps.
However, in 1905, one of the first dinosaur skeleton mounts to be put on display was in the American Museum of Natural History. Its specimen number: AMNH 460 was labeled as "Brontosaurus excelsus". Why the museum's curator, Henry Fairfield Osborn did this is unknown, especially considering he was not fond of Marsh's taxa.
As for Marsh's holotype, specimen number: YPM 1980, it was put on display at the Yale Peabody Museum in 1931 and labeled as "Apatosaurus excelsus".
One may ask, why did the Brontosaurus name persist especially when it was concluded that Brontosaurus did not exist? There were several reasons:
-A big reason is that while it's not understood why Osborn kept the (at the time) erroneous name on the Museum's specimen in NYC, one theory was that he thought the name sounded better. The specimen was among the most iconic of all the sauropod skeletons on earth for many years and has kept its name helped perpetuate the name.
-Early films helped popularize the name:
  -Early animated shorts such as Gertie the Dinosaur by Windsor McCay used the outdated name it. This was among the first pieces of media to feature a dinosaur and introduced many younger audiences to them.
  -The Lost World from 1925 used the animal in many iconic scenes, from its battle with T.rex to its rampage in London. It was the first "realistic" depictions of these awesome animals that captivated moviegoers across the globe.
-In terms of a non-scientific and non-historic point the name "Brontosaurus" does sound a lot better. "The Thunder Lizard", a name that makes one think of environments from a time long forgotten, back when the iconic reptiles of the Jurassic roamed America.
-Finally, it was just a synonymous name with Apatosaurus. While some dino-obsessed kids may snap at their parents for calling a skeleton of an Apatosaurus sauropod "Brontosaurus" and say, "it's APATOSAURUS MOMMY!" that does not mean it's wrong to call it that. As a whole, a genus name is completely arbitrary.

However, throughout all this time, Brontosaurus was viewed by the paleontological community as an outdated name. A name that was a relict of the Bone Wars, and while it did sound better, it was not accepted by the scientific community, until 2015.

Thunder Strikes Back:

Paleontologists Emanuel Tschopp, Octávio Mateus, and Roger Benson conducted a massive study on the various sauropods from the Late Jurassic. From Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus, Barosaurus, Brachiosaurus, to Diplodocus. Out of this study, a new species of Diplodocid was described, Galeamopus which was previously classified as a smaller species of Diplodocus, known as "Diplodocus hayi". However, the story that made headlines was the return of Brontosaurus as a valid genus of dinosaurs when the trio of paleontologists was able to find differences in the specimen and was able to justify its existence. The study reassigned "Apatosaurus excelsus" back to Brontosaurus, as well as "Apatosaurus parvus" to Brontosaurus and another species that was reclassified Brontosaurus yahnahpin.
The study also made some intriguing points about the various mounts of Apatosaurine dinosaurs across America. It was found that the mounts of Apatosaurus in New York and Chicago could not be classified as Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus. Meaning that both of these mounts could be an unknown species of dinosaur.
Many in the media and the scientific community celebrated the return of this dinosaurian icon. Others however have criticized this study. Most notably was Columbia paleontologist Donald R. Prothero, stating, "Until someone has convincingly addressed the issue, I'm going to put "Brontosaurus" in quotes and not follow the latest media fad, nor will I overrule Riggs (1903) and put the name in my books as a valid genus."
Their skepticism is warranted as there are now over 14 species of sauropod found across the Morrison, and some of them could be an example of different morphs, individual animals that vary from animal to animal, or sexual dimorphism.

However, for now, it's been accepted that Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus are indeed distinctive sauropod genera.

So, what were the differences between these two Morrison sauropods?
-For one, Brontosaurus was smaller. Some Apatosaurus specimens were double the size of Brontosaurus. Weighing in at an estimated 32-40 tons compared to an average of 16-18 tons for Brontosaurus.
-Brontosaurus was a far more successful genus than Apatosaurus. Brontosaurus ruled the floodplains of the Morrison for almost 10,000,000 years (from 156,300,000-146,800,000). Whereas Apatosaurus appeared 152,000,000 years ago and died out just over a million years later.
-Finally, and most crucially, its vertebra was structured differently. Brontosaurus had a wider and stouter vertebra than its cousin, Apatosaurus.

Brontosaurus has had an interesting history in terms of how it was described, how it was synonymized with its cousin, and how it made a comeback. Future generations will no doubt be fascinated by this awe-inspiring symbol of the Jurassic.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

What? Did you really think I'd forget Morrison Formation Week? Here's the most iconic of all dinosaurs, a symbol of Jurassic North America, the Thunder Lizard Brontosaurus.

Now, I know I could have included in some of these paragraphs/done a section of how all the mounts of Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus had Camarasaurus/Made-Up skulls, but honestly, I think I have something else in mind where it'd be far more suitable to talk about that. When will I get around to it? That remains to be seen.

Note: In terms of size, I took a middle ground between 16 tons and around 20 tons, because I've seen various estimates/comparisons between Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus. So I took the avg. and bumped it up slightly.

For the model: I modified DinosaurManZT2 's Apatosaurus and brought it in line with our modern understanding of sauropods. I changed the skin texture, made the neck a bit thicker, modified the feet, and of course, gave the male red scales on his head (Note: Didn't label it because, like the Edmontosaurus I did, it's completely speculative as to how sexually dimorphic dinosaurs were, but, I think you can tell).

I did use this in Past Meets Present, but I used an older model. I may one day go back and redo the scenes, but for now, I hope you enjoy this pic.

Original model by DinosaurManZT2 :
Apatosaurus (HENDRIX) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

For Past Meets Present:
Past Meets Present (Pt4 is Up) - The ZT2 Round Table

Description
Brontosaurus excelsus

The sauropods were truly the most awe-inspiring of all dinosaurs that walked the planet. And bar-none, the most famous of them all was the Jurassic icon, Brontosaurus.

Description:

A member of the diplodocids, these were the most numerous sauropods from Jurassic North America. Brontosaurus was actually on the average to small size for a sauropod. Just breaking the 70ft mark, and estimates range from 16-20 tons for an average individual.

Teeth and Diet:

Their teeth were indicative of browsing off of conifers and tree ferns. Their feeding method would have consisted of unilateral branch stripping. Clamping down with their peg-like teeth and pulling up or down to get a clump of foliage in their jaws. Following that, they would have swallowed it whole and left it to be digested in their gut, broken down through smaller stones called gastroliths. A recent study indicates that diplodocids like Brontosaurus would have had their teeth replaced throughout their lifetimes. Going through an entire set in around 35 days.

Habitat and Contemporaries:

An inhabitant of the Morrison Formation from the Rockies and parts of the Plains, Brontosaurus was one of many sauropod species thriving in the region. The environment of the Morrison was floodplains and conifer forests with a wet and dry season respectively. Being lush and vibrant during the wet season with a series of rivers running through it, and an arid scrub/savannah-like environment during the dry season. Its cousins, Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and Supersaurus are just a handful of diplodocids it co-existed with. Brontosaurus was the most successful genus of diplodocid, existing for almost 10,000,000 years. Among the other iconic dinosaurs, it lived alongside would be the armored Stegosaurus, swift and lithe ornithopods like Nanosaurus and Dryosaurus, and distantly related macronian sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus.
In terms of predators, juveniles would have been at risk to smaller theropods like Ornitholestes and Stokesosaurus. The larger carnivores, Ceratosaurus, Allosaurus, and Torvosaurus would have been the primary apex predators in the region. Preying upon more mature animals. One theory has posited that these dinosaurs would "flesh-graze" from the flesh of these sauropods. They would run to the flanks or belly of the sauropods and strip off chunks of flesh. The sauropod would survive and provide more flesh later on after it healed.

Historical Depictions:

In older depictions, they were shown as semi or fully aquatic animals. Grazing off the plant life in prehistoric lakes and river systems. Since their bulk was believed to be too great to walk on land and it was believed they had a sprawled posture.
Early paleontologists pointed to the fact that the nasal openings were positioned near the top of the head. However, by the 1950s, questions were raised about this lifestyle. For one, even if they had the nostrils at the top of the skull, the torso being submerged so far below would create a pressure difference that could collapse their lungs.
Furthermore, studies during the late 60s and into the 80s, analysis of the limbs showed that their limbs were not positioned sprawled to the side, but in fact, positioned directly under the torso.
Finally, in the early 2000s, it was found that the nostrils were not on the top of the head, but in fact, near the front of the head, drawing from conclusions as scientists have seen this on living archosaurs (birds and crocodilians).

Modern Depictions:

In modern depictions, they are shown as active, (possibly) warm-blooded animals, fully terrestrial land herbivores.
A common depiction has been showing them rearing up on their hind legs and using their tail as a prop. Studies from the related Diplodocus as well as various attributes from their skeletons actually support this theory.
-For one the center of mass on diplodocids was located near the hips meaning it could have been easier for them to rear back on their hind limbs.
-Furthermore, the tail vertebra has specialized attributes which have been posited as another indication that allowed them to rear.
-Finally, it could have doubled their feeding capabilities if they did this.

Herding Behavior:

Brontosaurus and its kin have also been depicted as social animals. Trackways found from related sauropods do support herding behavior. Recent studies focusing on Diplodocid trackways have posited these dinosaurs lived in age-segregated herds with Juveniles and animals of similar ages living together and the same goes for the adults.

Apato to Bronto, a classification and naming conundrum:

In recent years, this sauropod has had a resurgence in popularity since it was discovered that this animal was in fact a distinct species of sauropod. After more than a century of it being a synonym of its cousin, Apatosaurus.

Brontosaurus was discovered during the dawn of the infamous Bone Wars. The paleontological feud between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. In 1879, Marsh announced the discovery of a new species of sauropod recovered from Wyoming. He gave it a name that would be one of the most iconic binomial names for an organism, "Brontosaurus excelsus". The genus name means "Thunder Lizard" and species name means "noble", so "Noble Thunder Lizard". The description was brief, as Marsh and Cope often rushed to name as many species as possible during this time. The differences he pointed to justify the species validity was the hip bone (sacrum) was structured differently compared to other sauropods.
Then, in 1903, Paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs re-examine the material that Marsh described and compared it to another one of Marsh's sauropods, Apatosaurus. In an editorial published by the Field Museum in Chicago, Riggs stated that the differences that Marsh noted to justify Brontosaurus were not enough to warrant its own taxon. Apatosaurus was described in 1877, and Brontosaurus in 1879, so Riggs synonymized the animals and since it was discovered first, Apatosaurus had priority, and thus, the species became "Apatosaurus excelsus". Thus, it seemed Brontosaurus would be confined to the dustbin of taxonomic mishaps.
However, in 1905, one of the first dinosaur skeleton mounts to be put on display was in the American Museum of Natural History. Its specimen number: AMNH 460 was labeled as "Brontosaurus excelsus". Why the museum's curator, Henry Fairfield Osborn did this is unknown, especially considering he was not fond of Marsh's taxa.
As for Marsh's holotype, specimen number: YPM 1980, it was put on display at the Yale Peabody Museum in 1931 and labeled as "Apatosaurus excelsus".
One may ask, why did the Brontosaurus name persist especially when it was concluded that Brontosaurus did not exist? There were several reasons:
-A big reason is that while it's not understood why Osborn kept the (at the time) erroneous name on the Museum's specimen in NYC, one theory was that he thought the name sounded better. The specimen was among the most iconic of all the sauropod skeletons on earth for many years and has kept its name helped perpetuate the name.
-Early films helped popularize the name:
  -Early animated shorts such as Gertie the Dinosaur by Windsor McCay used the outdated name it. This was among the first pieces of media to feature a dinosaur and introduced many younger audiences to them.
  -The Lost World from 1925 used the animal in many iconic scenes, from its battle with T.rex to its rampage in London. It was the first "realistic" depictions of these awesome animals that captivated moviegoers across the globe.
-In terms of a non-scientific and non-historic point the name "Brontosaurus" does sound a lot better. "The Thunder Lizard", a name that makes one think of environments from a time long forgotten, back when the iconic reptiles of the Jurassic roamed America.
-Finally, it was just a synonymous name with Apatosaurus. While some dino-obsessed kids may snap at their parents for calling a skeleton of an Apatosaurus sauropod "Brontosaurus" and say, "it's APATOSAURUS MOMMY!" that does not mean it's wrong to call it that. As a whole, a genus name is completely arbitrary.

However, throughout all this time, Brontosaurus was viewed by the paleontological community as an outdated name. A name that was a relict of the Bone Wars, and while it did sound better, it was not accepted by the scientific community, until 2015.

Thunder Strikes Back:

Paleontologists Emanuel Tschopp, Octávio Mateus, and Roger Benson conducted a massive study on the various sauropods from the Late Jurassic. From Camarasaurus, Apatosaurus, Barosaurus, Brachiosaurus, to Diplodocus. Out of this study, a new species of Diplodocid was described, Galeamopus which was previously classified as a smaller species of Diplodocus, known as "Diplodocus hayi". However, the story that made headlines was the return of Brontosaurus as a valid genus of dinosaurs when the trio of paleontologists was able to find differences in the specimen and was able to justify its existence. The study reassigned "Apatosaurus excelsus" back to Brontosaurus, as well as "Apatosaurus parvus" to Brontosaurus and another species that was reclassified Brontosaurus yahnahpin.
The study also made some intriguing points about the various mounts of Apatosaurine dinosaurs across America. It was found that the mounts of Apatosaurus in New York and Chicago could not be classified as Apatosaurus or Brontosaurus. Meaning that both of these mounts could be an unknown species of dinosaur.
Many in the media and the scientific community celebrated the return of this dinosaurian icon. Others however have criticized this study. Most notably was Columbia paleontologist Donald R. Prothero, stating, "Until someone has convincingly addressed the issue, I'm going to put "Brontosaurus" in quotes and not follow the latest media fad, nor will I overrule Riggs (1903) and put the name in my books as a valid genus."
Their skepticism is warranted as there are now over 14 species of sauropod found across the Morrison, and some of them could be an example of different morphs, individual animals that vary from animal to animal, or sexual dimorphism.

However, for now, it's been accepted that Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus are indeed distinctive sauropod genera.

So, what were the differences between these two Morrison sauropods?
-For one, Brontosaurus was smaller. Some Apatosaurus specimens were double the size of Brontosaurus. Weighing in at an estimated 32-40 tons compared to an average of 16-18 tons for Brontosaurus.
-Brontosaurus was a far more successful genus than Apatosaurus. Brontosaurus ruled the floodplains of the Morrison for almost 10,000,000 years (from 156,300,000-146,800,000). Whereas Apatosaurus appeared 152,000,000 years ago and died out just over a million years later.
-Finally, and most crucially, its vertebra was structured differently. Brontosaurus had a wider and stouter vertebra than its cousin, Apatosaurus.

Brontosaurus has had an interesting history in terms of how it was described, how it was synonymized with its cousin, and how it made a comeback. Future generations will no doubt be fascinated by this awe-inspiring symbol of the Jurassic.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

What? Did you really think I'd forget Morrison Formation Week? Here's the most iconic of all dinosaurs, a symbol of Jurassic North America, the Thunder Lizard Brontosaurus.

Now, I know I could have included in some of these paragraphs/done a section of how all the mounts of Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus had Camarasaurus/Made-Up skulls, but honestly, I think I have something else in mind where it'd be far more suitable to talk about that. When will I get around to it? That remains to be seen.

Note: In terms of size, I took a middle ground between 16 tons and around 20 tons, because I've seen various estimates/comparisons between Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus. So I took the avg. and bumped it up slightly.

For the model: I modified DinosaurManZT2 's Apatosaurus and brought it in line with our modern understanding of sauropods. I changed the skin texture, made the neck a bit thicker, modified the feet, and of course, gave the male red scales on his head (Note: Didn't label it because, like the Edmontosaurus I did, it's completely speculative as to how sexually dimorphic dinosaurs were, but, I think you can tell).

I did use this in Past Meets Present, but I used an older model. I may one day go back and redo the scenes, but for now, I hope you enjoy this pic.

Original model by DinosaurManZT2 :
Apatosaurus (HENDRIX) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

For Past Meets Present:
Past Meets Present (Pt4 is Up) - The ZT2 Round Table