Apatosaurus vs Herrerasaurus
A detailed side-by-side comparison of Apatosaurus and Herrerasaurus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.
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| Property | Apatosaurus | Herrerasaurus |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Apatosaurus ajax | Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis |
| Classification | Sauropoda | Saurischia |
| Period | Jurassic Late | Triassic Late |
| Diet | Herbivore | Carnivore |
| Length | 22.0 m | 6.0 m |
| Height | 4.5 m | 1.5 m |
| Weight | 22.7 t | 350 kg |
| Discovery Year | 1877 | 1963 |
| Discovery Location | Morrison Formation, Colorado, USA | Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina |
| Named By | Othniel Charles Marsh | Osvaldo Reig |
Size Comparison
about as long as 4 cars end-to-end
roughly the length of a large SUV
Weight Comparison
about the weight of 3.8 elephants
about 5 adult humans
Timeline Comparison
Diet Comparison
Apatosaurus
HerbivoreApatosaurus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.
Herrerasaurus
CarnivoreHerrerasaurus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.
Classification Comparison
Apatosaurus
Herrerasaurus
Group: Saurischia
(Lizard-hipped dinosaurs)
Did You Know?
Apatosaurus was about 3.7x longer than Herrerasaurus.
Apatosaurus weighed roughly 65x more than Herrerasaurus.
Apatosaurus was a herbivore while Herrerasaurus was a carnivore.
Apatosaurus lived during the Jurassic Late while Herrerasaurus lived during the Triassic Late, separated by roughly 92 million years.
Apatosaurus was discovered 86 years earlier, in 1877.
Apatosaurus belonged to Sauropoda while Herrerasaurus belonged to Saurischia.
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