Dinosaur Hall - Sauropods
Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest land animals
ever to walk on earth. These dinosaurs were masters
of their environment, and their weight exceeded 20
tons (40,000 pounds). Footprint evidence suggests
the younger ones may have traveled in the center of
the herd. Sauropods, first known from the Early
Jurassic, survived until the latest Cretaceous and
were among the last of the dinosaurs to become
extinct.
Camarasaurus
Known as the Jurassic “cow,” more skulls of
Camarasaurus are known than all other sauropod
skulls combined. Many species of Camarasaurus are
known. The largest, C. grandis, had a neck that,
when fleshed out, would have been nearly as tall as
a man. This specimen is a replica from the Morrison
Formation in Utah, dating from the Late Jurassic.
Apatosaurus
You may touch this fossil femur (thighbone) of
an Apatosaurus, previously known as Brontosaurus.
These sauropods reached over 80 feet long and
weighed over 20 tons, five times the size of an
African elephant. The animals traveled in herds, and
because of their massive size may have had little to
fear from predators. Apatosaurus lived exclusively
in the Jurassic. Some roamed what is now Arizona 144
million years ago.
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