Brontosaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Brontosaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 145 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 145 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Sauropods & prosauropods |
|---|---|
| Lived | 154.8–143.1 million years ago (Kimmeridgian to Tithonian) |
| Periods | Jurassic |
| Family | Diplodocidae |
| Named by | Marsh 1879 |
| Fossil records | 23 occurrences at 14 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Morrison |
About Brontosaurus
Brontosaurus ( BRON-tə-SOR-əs; literally 'thunder lizard', from the Greek words βροντή brontḗ, 'thunder', and σαῦρος saûros, 'lizard') is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in present-day United States during the Late Jurassic period. It was described by American paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879, the type species being dubbed B. excelsus, based on a partial skeleton lacking a skull found in Como Bluff, Wyoming. In subsequent years, two more species of Brontosaurus were named: B. parvus in 1902 and B. yahnahpin in 1994. Brontosaurus lived about 156 to 146 million years ago (mya) during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages in the Morrison Formation of what is now Utah and Wyoming. For decades, the animal was thought to have been a taxonomic synonym of its close relative Apatosaurus, but a 2015 study by Emmanuel Tschopp and colleagues found it to be distinct. It has seen widespread representation in popular culture, being the archetypal "long-necked" dinosaur in general media.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brontosaurus (revision 1374721241), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in.
