| Dinosaurs Brontosaurus Back to Dinosaur Main |
The Brontosaurus, whose name means "thunder lizard" in Greek, is one of the
most famous dinosaurs of all. However, there is no dinosaur that is named
Brontosaurus!
A long time ago Dr. O. C. Marsh discovered a small four legged dinosaur with a
long neck. He decided to name the dinosaur Apatosaurus meaning deceptive
lizard. Later the same scientist discovered a much bigger dinosaur of the same
type. Because the back bones seemed different he decided it was a different
dinosaur. This dinosaur was so big he decided to name it Brontosaurus.
When scientists looked at these fossils later they realised that the Apatosaurus
was the same animal as the Brontosaurus. Scientists use the first name given to
an animal, so they decided to rename the Brontosaurus to Apatosaurus
because Apatosaurus came first. Scientists now know that the back bones of the
Apatosaurus grew together as the animal gets bigger. It was because the back
bones changed that Dr. Marsh thought they were different animals.
Dr. Marsh also made the Brontosaurus very popular. He put the first full
dinosaur skeleton on display in a museum for everyone to see. The bones he
put on display where his Brontosaurus bones, and Brontosaurus became very
popular. Dr. Marsh made some other mistakes about the Brontosaurus. When
he put the Brontosaurus skeleton together some bones were missing, even the
skull. He used bones from other dinosaur digs that he thought belonged to
Brontosaurus. He accidentally put a head from a dinosaur called the
Camarasaurus onto the body of an Apatosaurus. He also thought the
Brontosaurus had lived mostly in the water. This was another mistake! The rocks
that scientists find Apatosaurus bones in do not come from swampy areas.
It took almost 100 years after Brontosaurus was first named for two scientists,
Jack McIntosh and David Bermanbase, to find these mistakes, and put the right
head on the right body at last! Dinosaurs Totally Explained
Download Activity Book
Download Colouring Sheet 1 2
most famous dinosaurs of all. However, there is no dinosaur that is named
Brontosaurus!
A long time ago Dr. O. C. Marsh discovered a small four legged dinosaur with a
long neck. He decided to name the dinosaur Apatosaurus meaning deceptive
lizard. Later the same scientist discovered a much bigger dinosaur of the same
type. Because the back bones seemed different he decided it was a different
dinosaur. This dinosaur was so big he decided to name it Brontosaurus.
When scientists looked at these fossils later they realised that the Apatosaurus
was the same animal as the Brontosaurus. Scientists use the first name given to
an animal, so they decided to rename the Brontosaurus to Apatosaurus
because Apatosaurus came first. Scientists now know that the back bones of the
Apatosaurus grew together as the animal gets bigger. It was because the back
bones changed that Dr. Marsh thought they were different animals.
Dr. Marsh also made the Brontosaurus very popular. He put the first full
dinosaur skeleton on display in a museum for everyone to see. The bones he
put on display where his Brontosaurus bones, and Brontosaurus became very
popular. Dr. Marsh made some other mistakes about the Brontosaurus. When
he put the Brontosaurus skeleton together some bones were missing, even the
skull. He used bones from other dinosaur digs that he thought belonged to
Brontosaurus. He accidentally put a head from a dinosaur called the
Camarasaurus onto the body of an Apatosaurus. He also thought the
Brontosaurus had lived mostly in the water. This was another mistake! The rocks
that scientists find Apatosaurus bones in do not come from swampy areas.
It took almost 100 years after Brontosaurus was first named for two scientists,
Jack McIntosh and David Bermanbase, to find these mistakes, and put the right
head on the right body at last! Dinosaurs Totally Explained
Download Activity Book
Download Colouring Sheet 1 2
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| This 113 Page book contains activities, lesson plans and teaching resources, aimed at homeschooling for Gr K-6. Preview the entire book here |
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