Open Paleo

Brachiosauridae

Riggs, 1904 Type genus Brachiosaurus

Its genera lived 161.5–93.9 million years ago Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous

Brachiosauridae is a family of large, quadrupedal, plant-eating sauropod dinosaurs and one of the main groups within Titanosauriformes, alongside the Euhelopodidae and the Titanosauria. Its members, which include Brachiosaurus and the African Giraffatitan, lived from the Late Jurassic into the Cretaceous across what are now North America, Africa and Europe, with Cretaceous members known only from North America (D'Emic, 2012). The island dwarf Europasaurus is described as a basal macronarian outside the family by Sander and colleagues (2006) but recovered as the earliest-diverging brachiosaurid by D'Emic (2012). Their long necks are interpreted as extending their vertical reach for high browsing (Paul, 1988). Their forelimbs are longer than their hindlimbs (Riggs, 1904). Brachiosaurus had substantially broader teeth than the later Abydosaurus (Chure and colleagues, 2010), and the family is diagnosed by traits of the teeth, back vertebrae and pelvis (D'Emic, 2012).

Diagnosis

  1. Forelimbs longer than or subequal in length to the hindlimbs
  2. Humerus elongate, exceeding or approaching femoral length
  3. Highly elevated, arched narial region on the skull
  4. Coracoid with a quadrangular outline
  5. Relatively short tail compared with other macronarians
  6. Maxillary teeth twisted axially through an arc of 30 to 45 degrees
  7. Middle and posterior dorsal vertebrae with elongate, rod-like transverse processes
  8. Ischium with an abbreviated pubic peduncle

Genera placed directly in Brachiosauridae

  • Abydosaurus Chure et al., 2010 Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)United States
  • Brachiosaurus Riggs, 1903 Kimmeridgian–Tithonian (154.8–143.1 Ma)United States
  • Cedarosaurus Tidwell et al., 1999 Valanginian (137.1–132.6 Ma)United States
  • Giraffatitan Paul, 1988 Kimmeridgian–Tithonian (154.8–143.1 Ma)Tanzania
  • Lusotitan Antunes & Mateus, 2003 Kimmeridgian–Tithonian (154.8–143.1 Ma)Portugal
  • Sonorasaurus Ratkevich, 1998 Albian–Cenomanian (113.2–93.9 Ma)United States
  • Soriatitan Royo-Torres et al., 2017 Hauterivian–Barremian (132.6–121.4 Ma)Spain
  • Venenosaurus Tidwell et al., 2001 Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)United States
  • Vouivria Mannion et al., 2017 Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)France

References

  1. Riggs, E. S. (1904). Structure and relationships of opisthocoelian dinosaurs. Part II, the Brachiosauridae. Field Columbian Museum, Geological Series 2: 229-247.

    Named the family Brachiosauridae.

    riggs1904a
  2. D'Emic, M. D. (2012). The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166: 624-671. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00853.x

    Cladistic revision of basal titanosauriforms providing the modern diagnosis of Brachiosauridae.

    d'emic2012b
  3. Sander, P. M.; Mateus, O.; Laven, T.; Knötschke, N. (2006). Bone histology indicates insular dwarfism in a new Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur. Nature 441: 739-741. doi:10.1038/nature04633

    Described Europasaurus as a basal macronarian and showed from bone histology that it was an island dwarf.

    sander2006a
  4. Paul, G. S. (1988). The brachiosaur giants of the Morrison and Tendaguru with a description of a new subgenus, Giraffatitan, and a comparison of the world's largest dinosaurs. Hunteria 2(3): 1-14.

    Described the brachiosaurs of the Morrison and Tendaguru, interpreting their long necks as an adaptation for high browsing.

    paul1988b
  5. Chure, D.; Britt, B. B.; Whitlock, J. A.; Wilson, J. A. (2010). First complete sauropod dinosaur skull from the Cretaceous of the Americas and the evolution of sauropod dentition. Naturwissenschaften 97(4): 379-391. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0650-6

    Described Abydosaurus, noting its narrower teeth than those of the older Brachiosaurus.

    chure2010a