Apatosaurus is often mentioned in the same breath as Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus as one of the most well known dinosaurs of all time. These massively robust sauropods lived in the Morrison Formation alongside many other famous dinosaurs, such as Allosaurus, the aforementioned Stegosaurus, and Brachiosaurus.
There are currently two recognized Apatosaurus species, the type species Apatosaurus ajax, and Apatosaurus louisae (though the latter sometimes gets lumped into Brontosaurus as some consider it closer to Apatosaurus' sister species, Brontosaurus excelsus).
Apatosaurus possessed a boxy head with a squared off snout set atop a massive neck featuring some of the most massive cervicals found among all sauropods. It had massive pillar like feet with a singular claw on the front feet, and three claws on the hind feet. It also had massive slab sided body, and a humongous tail that tapers off into a thin tip. Sauropod skin impressions suggest the animal was covered in non-overlapping hexagonal scales ranging from one to four centimeters in diameter, furthermore, evidence might suggest a row of spines ran along its back.
Planet of Dinosaurs (1978)[]
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The Age of Mammals (1981)[]
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Dinosaurs: Fun, Fact and Fantasy (1982)[]
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Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (1985)[]
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Dinosaurs! A Fun-Filled Trip Back In Time! (1987)[]
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The Land Before Time franchise (1988-2016)[]
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Stanley and the Dinosaurs (1989)[]
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The Dinosaurs! (1992)[]
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Jurassic Park franchise (2015-2022)[]
An Apatosaurus, mortally wounded by the Indominus rex, being comforted by Owen Grady and Claire Dearing in its final moments
Species[]
??? (Most likely A. ajax, though cannot be said for certain at this point in time.)
Role[]
Background animal, kickstarting Claire's character development. Her consoling of the dying Apatosaurus is most likely the first time she sees these creatures as something other than "assets" and can possibly be the reason she founds the Dinosaur Protection Group (DPG).
Inaccuracies[]
Elephantine skin, too many digits on the hind feet, neck lacks the wide cervicals iconic to Apatosaurus.
History and Design
Cultural Significance
Ballad of Big Al (2000)[]
A herd of Apatosaurus moving through the area
Species
Apatosaurinae sp. (species unknown)
Role
Background animal.
Inaccuracies
The Apatosaurus models in Ballad of Big Al are repurposed Diplodocus models, with shortened necks and the dorsal spikes removes. therefore essentially the entire animal is wrong.
History and Design
The Apatosaurus in Ballad of Big Al are a pale green with brighter green patterns, furthermore they are repurposed models, seeing as they are altered versions of Walking With Dinosaur's Diplodocus model.
Cultural significance
When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001)[]
Apatosaurus as it appears on the WDRA "Go Back In Time" interactive
Species[]
Apatosaurus louisae, consistent with the other animals seen in the episode, and the general robustness of the animal itself.
Role[]
When they first appear they are simply background animals, one of them defending its young from an Allosaurus looking to prey upon it. Towards the end of the Jurassic segment one of them falls off of a ledge and ends up falling prey to a group of Allosaurus.
Inaccuracies[]
Front feet are elephantine, having multiple claws instead of the singular inward-facing claw they should have, furthermore the hind feet seem to have five digits instead of the three they should have, the two outer most digits should not be there. Also the neck posture would have been more upright, though that is something that became known after the documentary aired so it is excusable. The sauropod falling off the edge and being essentially consigned to death is inaccurate as well, such a fall would hurt but it would not debilitate a Sauropod to the extent shown in the scene.
History and Design[]
Brown, with paler brown colouration along the lower parts of the animal, and darker brown patterning running along the flanks.
Dino Lab (2006)[]
Species
A. louisae
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History and Design
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I'm a Dinosaur (2009)[]
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A. louisae
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Inaccuracies
History and Design
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Dinosaur Train (2010-2020)[]
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A. louisae
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Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)[]
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Dinosaur Island (2014)[]
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A. louisae
Role
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History and Design
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The Good Dinosaur (2015)[]
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A. louisae
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StoryBots (2016)[]
Species
A. louisae
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Trivia[]
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