Giraffatitan

giant giraffe

• giraffa · Latin (from Arabic) · giraffe
• titan · Greek · giant

The name combines "giraffa" (giraffe) with the Greek "Titan", meaning a giant. It means "giant giraffe" and refers to the animal's very long neck and tall, front-heavy build. The species was first described in 1914 as Brachiosaurus brancai and was moved into its own genus in 1988.

Named by

Paul

Year named

1988

Period

Late Jurassic

Stages

Kimmeridgian – Tithonian

Found in

Tendaguru Formation, Tanzania

The type species is Giraffatitan brancai, originally named Brachiosaurus brancai by Janensch in 1914. Some researchers still treat it as a species or subgenus of Brachiosaurus, but most now regard Giraffatitan as a separate genus. It is a brachiosaurid sauropod. The mounted skeleton in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin is one of the best-known sauropod mounts.