Apatosaurus

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/apatosaurus

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Apatosaurus ajax
2. What is the habitat?Late Jurassic forests and woodlands of North America (Morrison Formation)
3. What did the Apatosaurus look like?The Apatosaurus was a huge dinosaur with a very long neck and tail, a big barrel-shaped body, and four thick, pillar-like legs. Its neck had many vertebrae so it could reach plants high up without moving its whole body.
4. How big was the Apatosaurus?It weighed between 20 and 35 tons, making it one of the heaviest land animals that ever lived. Its body was so large that it needed to spend most of its day eating.

Sauropod: A suborder of herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by their long necks, long tails, and quadrupedal stance.
Late Jurassic Epoch: A period of geological time, approximately 163.5 to 145 million years ago, known for the diversification of dinosaurs.
Morrison Formation: A significant geological formation in western North America containing fossils from the Late Jurassic period.
Vertebrae: The individual bones that make up the spinal column of vertebrates.