Brontosaurus

thunder lizard

• bronte · Greek · thunder
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Greek words for "thunder" and "lizard". Othniel Charles Marsh chose it in 1879 for a huge sauropod, evoking the idea that an animal this large would shake the ground like thunder when it walked.

Named by

Marsh

Year named

1879

Period

Late Jurassic

Stages

Kimmeridgian – Tithonian

Found in

Morrison Formation, western USA (the type species B. excelsus came from Como Bluff, Wyoming)

Brontosaurus has a contested status. Elmer Riggs treated it as a junior synonym of Apatosaurus (Marsh, 1877) in 1903, and that view held for about a century. A large 2015 study by Tschopp, Mateus and Benson found it distinct and resurrected it as a valid genus, and that is the status recorded here. Some researchers still prefer to treat it as Apatosaurus, so check current sources. The Late Jurassic stage range is approximate.