Brachiosaurus altithorax
读音： BRAK-ee-oh-SORE-us al-tih-THOR-ax
Macronaria · Brachiosauridae
A giant long-necked sauropod from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado, with forelimbs longer than its hind limbs. The famous mounted skeleton in Berlin belongs to a different genus, Giraffatitan.
- Quadrupedal
- Giant
- Long necked
- Movie icon
- 时代
- 侏罗纪· 钦莫利阶
- 食性
- 植食性
- 体长
- 未知
- 体重
- 28,700 kg
- 地点
- Colorado, United States
快速问答
- Brachiosaurus altithorax有多大？
- 髋部高约3.8–4.4 m。体重约28.7 t。 (Taylor 2009; Paul 2016)
- Brachiosaurus altithorax生活在什么时候？
- Brachiosaurus altithorax生活在晚侏罗世，约1.548亿至1.45亿年前。 (Cohen et al. 2023; Taylor 2009)
- 在哪里发现过Brachiosaurus altithorax的化石？
- Brachiosaurus altithorax的化石发现于Morrison Formation (Colorado)和United States。 (Riggs 1903; Taylor 2009)
- Brachiosaurus altithorax吃什么？
- Brachiosaurus altithorax是植食性。 (Riggs 1903; Taylor 2009)
- Brachiosaurus altithorax由谁命名，何时命名？
- Brachiosaurus altithorax由Elmer S. Riggs于1903年描述。 (Riggs 1903; Taylor 2009)
- Brachiosaurus altithorax出现在《侏罗纪公园》里吗？
- 是的。Brachiosaurus altithorax出现在《侏罗纪公园》 (1993)、《侏罗纪公园3》 (2001)和《侏罗纪世界2》 (2018)中。电影有不少虚构成分；本页将其与化石证据进行了对比。 (Wikipedia: Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park 2026; Taylor 2009)
本页内容
- 时代
- 侏罗纪154.8–145 Ma
- 食性
- 植食性
- 体长
- 未知
- 体重
- 28.7 t
- 产地
- United States
- 分类
- Macronaria · Brachiosauridae
- 命名
- 1903, Elmer S. Riggs
概览
此内容目前仅提供英文版。
Brachiosaurus altithorax lived in western North America in the Late Jurassic. Elmer Riggs of the Field Columbian Museum found the holotype (FMNH P25107) in 1900 near Grand Junction, Colorado, and named it in 1903, calling it "the largest known dinosaur".
It was a macronarian sauropod with front legs longer than its back legs and a long neck held upwards, giving it a sloping back like a giraffe. Its remains in the Morrison Formation are rare: the holotype is still the best specimen, and it lacks the skull and most of the neck.
Much of what is popularly shown as "Brachiosaurus", including the tall skeleton in the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, is based on fossils from Tendaguru, Tanzania, once called Brachiosaurus brancai. Taylor (2009) showed that the two differ in many parts of the skeleton and supported moving the African species to its own genus, Giraffatitan. They should not be mixed up when reading sizes.
名称含义
From Greek brachion ("arm") and sauros ("lizard"), for the long forelimbs; altithorax, from Latin altus ("deep, high") and Greek thorax ("chest"), for its deep chest (Riggs 1903).
生物学与证据
科学家对这种动物生活方式的看法，以及每种观点的证据有多充分。
姿态
Brachiosaurus had front legs about as long as its hind legs, giving it a back that sloped down to the tail.
证据等级：直接证据The upper arm bone of the type specimen is as long as its thigh bone, which is measured directly on the fossil and gave the animal its name ("arm lizard").
支持 / 反对证据 · 1
支持证据
标本 · Brachiosaurus humerus as long as its femur
The holotype humerus is about as long as the femur, unlike most sauropods, giving a sloping back.
标本： FMNH P25107
进食
Brachiosaurus fed high in the trees, like a giraffe.
证据等级：中等证据Its long front legs raise the shoulders, which suggests high browsing. How upright the neck was held is still debated, because the neck of B. altithorax itself has not been found.
支持 / 反对证据 · 1
支持证据
标本 · Brachiosaurus humerus as long as its femur
The holotype humerus is about as long as the femur, unlike most sauropods, giving a sloping back.
标本： FMNH P25107
其他
The African "Brachiosaurus brancai" is a separate genus, Giraffatitan.
证据等级：有力证据Taylor (2009) found many differences between the American and African skeletons. Most researchers now use Giraffatitan for the Tendaguru animal, including the tall mounted skeleton in Berlin.
支持 / 反对证据 · 1
支持证据
比较解剖学 · Brachiosaurus vs Giraffatitan skeleton comparison
Point-by-point comparison of the Brachiosaurus holotype with the Tendaguru material, finding many differences in the back vertebrae, hips and limbs.
标本： FMNH P25107
体型
- 体长
- 未知
- 身高
- 4 m文献范围 3.8–4.4 m
- 体重
- 28,700 kg
（13.1 英尺）
依据 FMNH P25107 (holotype, femur 2.03 m)
依据 FMNH P25107 (holotype), partly reconstructed from Giraffatitan
体长未知，暂无体型对比。
时间线
时代： 钦莫利阶 (154.8–149.2 Ma), 提塘阶 (149.2–145 Ma), 晚侏罗世 (161.5–145 Ma)
Ages are the ICS 2023/09 bounds of the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian, the stage(s) the fossils are assigned to; they bracket the record and are not dated first/last appearances. Brachiosaurus material is rare and mostly from the upper Morrison Formation.
产地
地层
- Morrison Formation · Colorado
- Riggs Quarry 13, near Fruita / Grand Junction, Colorado · Morrison Formation · Colorado · 位置为近似值
- Garden Park, near Cañon City, Colorado · Morrison Formation · Colorado · 位置为近似值
这些是发现化石的地点，而不是该动物生活的全部范围。
生态系统
生活于： Morrison
156–147 百万年前 · 泛滥平原, 河流水系, 疏林, 湖泊
A vast, seasonally dry floodplain crossed by rivers in the western interior of North America in the Late Jurassic, with a wet and a dry season, conifer and fern vegetation along the water and giant sauropods in abundance.
分类
- 演化支Dinosauria
- 演化支Saurischia
- 演化支Sauropodomorpha
- 演化支Sauropoda
- 演化支Macronaria
- 科Brachiosauridae
- 属Brachiosaurus
- 种Brachiosaurus altithorax
分类地位： 有效
化石记录
| 编号 | 类型 | 收藏机构 | 发现年份 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMNH P25107 | 正模标本 | Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) | 1900 |
| USNM 5730 | 归入标本 | National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM) | 1883 |
已发现的部分
正模标本: FMNH P25107
- 保存
- 部分保存
- 复原
- 未知 / 未记录
正模标本: FMNH P25107
按部位查看（表格）
| 部位 | 状态 |
|---|---|
| Skull | 未知 / 未记录 · Not preserved. |
| Mandible | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Teeth | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Cervical vertebrae | 未知 / 未记录 · Not preserved. |
| Dorsal vertebrae | 保存 |
| Sacrum | 保存 |
| Caudal vertebrae | 部分保存 · Two tail vertebrae. |
| Ribs | 保存 |
| Gastralia | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Scapula / shoulder girdle | 部分保存 · Coracoid. |
| Humerus | 保存 |
| Forearm (radius / ulna) | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Hand (manus) | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Pelvis | 保存 |
| Femur | 保存 |
| Tibia / fibula | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Foot (pes) | 未知 / 未记录 |
归入标本: USNM 5730
按部位查看（表格）
| 部位 | 状态 |
|---|---|
| Skull | 部分保存 |
| Mandible | 部分保存 |
| Teeth | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Cervical vertebrae | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Dorsal vertebrae | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Sacrum | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Caudal vertebrae | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Ribs | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Gastralia | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Scapula / shoulder girdle | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Humerus | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Forearm (radius / ulna) | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Hand (manus) | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Pelvis | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Femur | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Tibia / fibula | 未知 / 未记录 |
| Foot (pes) | 未知 / 未记录 |
发现
- 命名年份
- 1903
- 命名者
- Elmer S. Riggs
- 模式标本
- FMNH P25107
发现时间线
1900 · 首次发现材料
Riggs excavates the Brachiosaurus holotype
The Field Columbian Museum expedition led by Riggs digs up the skeleton near Grand Junction, Colorado.
人物：Elmer S. Riggs
1903 · 正式命名
Riggs names Brachiosaurus altithorax
Riggs names it "the largest known dinosaur".
人物：Elmer S. Riggs
2009 · 修订
Taylor separates Brachiosaurus and Giraffatitan
A detailed comparison supports treating the African species as its own genus.
人物：Michael P. Taylor
《侏罗纪公园》与《侏罗纪世界》中的形象
电影
- 侏罗纪公园 (1993)
- 侏罗纪公园3 (2001)
- 侏罗纪世界2 (2018)
此内容目前仅提供英文版。
银幕形象
The first dinosaur the visitors see: a gentle giant that rears up on its hind legs to browse and chews its food like a cow.
电影与化石对比
- Sauropods did not chew: they cropped plants and swallowed them, leaving digestion to the gut.
- Rearing on the hind legs is doubtful for Brachiosaurus, whose long forelimbs carried its weight forward.
- The film animal follows the well-known Tanzanian skeletons then called Brachiosaurus brancai, now a separate genus, Giraffatitan; B. altithorax itself is known from far less material.
电影名称仅用于识别。DinoDex 与《侏罗纪公园》/《侏罗纪世界》系列无任何关联，也未获其认可。 所有在电影中出现的恐龙
参考文献
- (2026). Wikipedia: Dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_in_Jurassic_Park（在新标签页中打开）
- Cohen, K. M., Harper, D. A. T., Gibbard, P. L. & Car, N. (2023). International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2023/09). International Commission on Stratigraphy. https://stratigraphy.org/ICSchart/ChronostratChart2023-09.pdf（在新标签页中打开）
- Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd edition). Princeton University Press.
- Riggs, E. S. (1903). Brachiosaurus altithorax, the largest known dinosaur. American Journal of Science (series 4) 15: 299-306.
- Shay, D. & Duncan, J. (1993). The Making of Jurassic Park. Ballantine Books.
- Taylor, M. P. (2009). A re-evaluation of Brachiosaurus altithorax Riggs 1903 (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) and its generic separation from Giraffatitan brancai (Janensch 1914). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29(3): 787-806. doi:10.1671/039.029.0309（在新标签页中打开）