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Brachiosaurus altithorax

Reptilia - Brachiosauridae

Taxonomy
Brachiosaurus altithorax was named by Riggs (1903). Its type specimen is FMNH P25107, a set of postcrania, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Riggs Quarry 13, Fruita (FMNH), which is in a Kimmeridgian/Tithonian channel siltstone/sandstone in the Morrison Formation of Colorado. It is the type species of Brachiosaurus, Brachiosaurus (Brachiosaurus).

It was recombined as Astrodon altithorax by Kingham (1962); it was recombined as Brachiosaurus (Brachiosaurus) altithorax by Paul (1988).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1903Brachiosaurus altithorax Riggs
1904Brachiosaurus altithorax Riggs
1905Brachiosaurus altithorax Osborn p. 566
1915Brachiosaurus altithorax Lull p. 329
1916Brachiosaurus altithorax Mook p. 140
1920Brachiosaurus altithorax Wieland p. 530
1927Brachiosaurus altithorax Huene p. 457
1928Brachiosaurus altithorax Haughton p. 74
1930Brachiosaurus altithorax Hay p. 197
1937Brachiosaurus altithorax Janensch p. 550
1938Brachiosaurus altithorax Janensch p. 132
1959Brachiosaurus altithorax Anonymous p. 447
1962Astrodon altithorax Kingham p. 40
1964Brachiosaurus altithorax Tatarinov p. 547
1970Brachiosaurus altithorax Steel p. 68
1970Brachiosaurus altithorax Swinton p. 172
1982Brachiosaurus altithorax Santafé et al. p. 92
1988Brachiosaurus (Brachiosaurus) altithorax Paul p. 8
1990Brachiosaurus altithorax McIntosh p. 25
1991Brachiosaurus altithorax Goodknight et al. p. 73
1997Brachiosaurus altithorax Salgado and Calvo p. 42
1998Brachiosaurus altithorax Wilson and Sereno p. 21
1999Brachiosaurus altithorax Bonaparte pp. 149-150
2004Brachiosaurus altithorax Upchurch et al. p. 267
2005Brachiosaurus altithorax Apesteguía p. 250
2005Brachiosaurus altithorax Tidwell and Wilhite p. 194
2005Brachiosaurus altithorax Wilhite p. 270
2006Brachiosaurus altithorax Chure et al. p. 236
2006Brachiosaurus altithorax Mateus p. 227
2007Brachiosaurus altithorax Schwarz et al. p. 246
2009Brachiosaurus altithorax Taylor p. 798
2011Brachiosaurus altithorax D'Emic et al. p. 1076
2011Brachiosaurus altithorax Whitlock p. 334
2012Brachiosaurus altithorax Carballido et al. p. 576
2012Brachiosaurus altithorax D'Emic
2014Brachiosaurus altithorax Royo-Torres et al. p. 645
2016Brachiosaurus altithorax Foster et al. p. 50
2016Brachiosaurus altithorax Salisbury et al. p. 125
2018Brachiosaurus altithorax Maltese et al. p. 2
2019Brachiosaurus altithorax Tschopp et al. p. 72
2020Brachiosaurus altithorax Moro et al.
2020Brachiosaurus altithorax Páramo et al. p. 389
2021Brachiosaurus altithorax Ren et al. p. 1876
2021Brachiosaurus altithorax Woodruff et al. p. 112

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
RankNameAuthor
—Diapsida()
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Saurischia()
—Sauropoda()
—Gravisauria
—Eusauropoda
—Neosauropoda
—Macronaria
—Titanosauriformes
familyBrachiosauridae
genusBrachiosaurus
speciesaltithorax

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
G. S. Paul 1988Robust overall; mid dorsal centra much longer than posterior dorsal centra, anterior dorsal spines and transverse processes not much taller or wider than those of posterior dorsals; neural arches long, tall and narrow; transverse processes flat; dorsal centra pleurocoels large; dorsal column over twice humerus length and very long relative to vertebrae height; body massive relative to limbs.
M. P. Taylor 2009Postspinal lamina absent from dorsal vertebrae (character 130); distal ends of transverse processes of dorsal vertebrae transition smoothly onto dorsal surfaces of transverse processes (character 142); spinodiapophyseal and spinopostzygapophyseal laminae on middle and posterior dorsal vertebrae contact each other (character 146); posterior dorsal centra subcircular in cross-section (character 151); posterior dorsal neural spines progressively expand mediolaterally through most of their length (“petal” or “paddle” shaped) (character 155); mid-dorsals about one third longer than posterior dorsals (see Paul, 1988:7); mid-dorsals only about 20% taller than posterior dorsals (see Paul, 1988:8); dorsal centra long (Janensch, 1950a:72) so that dorsal column is over twice humerus length (Paul, 1988:8); transverse processes of dorsal vertebrae oriented horizontally (Paul, 1988:8); dorsal neural spines oriented close to vertical in lateral view; dorsal neural spines triangular in lateral view, diminishing smoothly in anteroposterior width from wide base upwards; deep inverted triangular ligament rugosities on anterior and posterior faces of neural spines; hyposphenes present on anterior caudal vertebrae (character 178); anterior caudal vertebrae have transversely widened neurapophyses (Janensch, 1950a:76); anterior caudal vertebrae lack lateral fossae (Janensch, 1950a:76); glenoid articular surface of coracoid oriented somewhat laterally; glenoid articular surface of coracoid mediolaterally broad, extending laterally onto thick buttress; humerus relatively robust (GI = 7.5); lateral margin of humerus with low bulge one fifth of the way down; projected line connecting articular surfaces of ischiadic and pubic processes of ilium passes ventral to ventral margin of postacetabular lobe (character 264); subtle posterior notch between ischiadic peduncle and postacetabular lobe of ilium; tubercle present on dorsal margin of postacetabular lobe of ilium; distal tip of fourth trochanter lies at femoral midshaft height (character 282); lateral margin of femoral shaft in anterior or posterior view straight (character 285); femur relatively robust (GI = 5.5); tibial and fibular condyles of femur equal in width.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteinfrao
Entire body: yesg
Adult length: 10 to < 100infrao
Adult width: 10 to < 100infrao
Adult height: 10 to < 100infrao
Thickness: thickinfrao
Architecture: compact or denseinfrao
Form: sphericalinfrao
Ontogeny: accretion, modification of partsinfrao
Grouping: gregariousinfrao
Environment: terrestrialinfrao
Locomotion: actively mobileinfrao
Life habit: ground dwellinginfrao
Diet: herbivoreinfrao
Reproduction: oviparousinfrao
Dispersal: direct/internalinfrao
Dispersal 2: mobileinfrao
Created: 2005-08-24 13:36:53
Modified: 2005-08-24 15:36:53
Source: g = genus, infrao = infraorder
References: Marsh 1875, Peczkis 1995

Age range: base of the Kimmeridgian to the top of the Tithonian or 157.30000 to 145.00000 Ma

Collections (2 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Kimmeridgian - Tithonian157.3 - 145.0USA (Colorado) Brachiosaurus altithorax (type locality: 56683) Brachiosaurus sp. (49623)