Before getting into the Brontosaurus discovery, the average person may not know that the long misunderstood Brontosaurus, seen at the American Museum of Natural History, was long thought to be part of the Apatosaurus family. There have been recent studies done that show that Brontosaurus actually is its own dinosaur species, and has been reinstated as such.
The Bone Wars
Back in the early 19th century, there were two big paleontologists, Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope. Each of them was in competition with the other to find as many new species of dinosaurs possible within the shortest timeframe. The case with the Brontosaurus occurred when Cope found a similar fossil to Marsh’s Apatosaurus and named it Brontosaurus. At that time, there weren’t really any distinguishable differences tht were notable between the two giants, and so scientists later on decided that Brontosaurus was a part of the Apatosaurus family and not its own species. This led to the misunderstood Brontosaurus being excluded from the official dinosaur listings.
Differences Between Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus
There are many differences between the Apatosaurus and the long misunderstood Brontosaurus. Many of the differences are not as glaring as one may think, although the size and shape of their necks is a definite distinguishable factor. There were many studies done over a five year period in order to determine that Brontosaurus was indeed its own dinosaur species.
Emanuel Tschopp and his team were the ones responsible for all of these studies and they visited over 20 museums in the United States and Europe to help them determine this amazing finding. Emanuel Tschopp is a Portuguese paleontologist who works at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He originally did not begin his studies on the diplodocids, the group to which these two giants pertain, thinking that it would end with the reinstatement of the misunderstood Brontosaurus, as seen with Marsh’s history at the Academy of Natural Sciences. However, as he and his team gathered more information and examined over 450 anatomical traits between the two, they finally made the definitive decision to bring back Brontosaurus and put him in his proper place alongside other great dinosaur giants.
The decision to make this misunderstood Brontosaurus a legitimate dinosaur was made knowing that there could very well be push-back by the scientific community. Tschopp and his team are expecting to have a lot of discussions in the near future with different prominent members of the scientific community.
Where To Find Fossils…
There are plenty of ways to enjoy seeing dinosaur fossils and seeing all of the different kinds of dinosaurs that exist through traveling across the United States and Europe. The adventure of seeing these amazing giants for yourself can be quite worthwhile. One of the more prominent museums in the United States is the American Museum of Natural History in New York. They actually do have Apatosaurus fossils, and possibly Brontosaurus fossils as well–but this is still unclear as the museums will all need to go in and rename all of their exhibits involving these two dinosaurs to reflect the changes.
Some of the other museums that you can visit in the United States to see great dinosaur fossils include: Anniston Museum of Natural History in Alabama, Museum of Paleontology in California, and the Peabody Museum of Natural History in Connecticut.
Wherever you decide to go to see and experience these great dinosaur fossils, it is sure to be one of the best adventures for you and your family. Once the scientific community has determined how they will go about labeling all of the known Brontosaurus fossils, then visitors will have the unique opportunity to see those as well. The good news is that the misunderstood Brontosaurus will now have a place and a home in the amazing world of dinosaurs.
Need the encouragement for a real life Jurassic Park fossil-hunting road trip. Watch this capture of road trip feels:
https://youtu.be/Mr5OsHRK0mU
