Apatosaurus vs Protoceratops

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Apatosaurus and Protoceratops, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

Side-by-Side Comparison

गुण Apatosaurus Protoceratops
वैज्ञानिक नाम Apatosaurus ajax Protoceratops andrewsi
वर्गीकरण Sauropoda Ceratopsia
युग Jurassic Late Cretaceous Late
आहार Herbivore Herbivore
लंबाई 22.0 m 1.8 m
Height 4.5 m 0.6 m
वजन 22.7 t 83 kg
खोज वर्ष 1877 1923
खोज स्थान Morrison Formation, Colorado, USA Gobi Desert, Mongolia
नामकर्ता Othniel Charles Marsh Walter Granger & W.K. Gregory

Size Comparison

Apatosaurus 22.0 m

about as long as 4 cars end-to-end

Protoceratops 1.8 m

about the size of a human adult

Weight Comparison

Apatosaurus 22.7 t

about the weight of 3.8 elephants

Protoceratops 83 kg

about 1 adult humans

Timeline Comparison

Apatosaurus
161.5 Mya Jurassic Late (Mesozoic) 145.0 Mya
Protoceratops
100.5 Mya Cretaceous Late (Mesozoic) 66.0 Mya

Diet Comparison

Apatosaurus

Herbivore

Apatosaurus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

Protoceratops

Herbivore

Protoceratops was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

Classification Comparison

Apatosaurus

Clade: Sauropodomorpha

Group: Sauropoda

(Lizard feet)

Protoceratops

Clade: Ornithischia

Group: Ceratopsia

(Horned faces)

Did You Know?

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Apatosaurus was about 12.2x longer than Protoceratops.

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Apatosaurus weighed roughly 273x more than Protoceratops.

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Both Apatosaurus and Protoceratops were herbivores.

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Apatosaurus lived during the Jurassic Late while Protoceratops lived during the Cretaceous Late, separated by roughly 44 million years.

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Apatosaurus was discovered 46 years earlier, in 1877.

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Apatosaurus belonged to Sauropoda while Protoceratops belonged to Ceratopsia.

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