Fun Barosaurus Facts For Kids

An American museum and the Royal Ontario Museum sing the glory of various dinosaurs who didn't live long enough to see the current world. The Barosaurus is one such dinosaur, which lived around 145 million years ago in North America and South Dakota.

Present day animals with long necks which we see are somewhat close in relation to these long-necked dinosaurs from the late Jurassic period. The Barosaurus is the Greek name for heavy lizard. This family of dinosaurs ate plants and were one of the most common sauropods.

They were found in the Carnegie quarry. Another dinosaur, the diplodocus, and the Barosaurus were very similar to each other, although there were slight differences in vertebrae of the specimens.

The skeleton of a mother Barosaurus can be seen in various museums in New York. Their hind legs were a sign of strength and were of good use when it came to protecting their young.

These specimens of plant-eating dinosaurs are so long that their skulls would be the height of around the fifth level of a building when their body skeleton is arranged correctly.

The family tree of this sauropod is very simple and starts from the early Diplodocidae, from there they come under Diplodocids.

As we have around nine specimens of this sauropod, it's relatively easy to get discrete information such as blood pressure and intricate details of the skull and forelimbs of this dino. To dive into the range of such interesting yet roar-ing animals, make sure to check out our other articles on howler monkeys and proboscis monkeys.

Barosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Barosaurus '?

Our natural history is a fantastic place to learn more about such long-neck creatures on the ground. The behavioral discovery of this species is yet to be done. You can pronounce this dinosaur's name very easily by following this simple guide, that is "BAH-roe-SORE-us".

What type of dinosaur was a Barosaurus?

Out of all the discovered dinosaurs from North America, this dinosaur is a close relative to many other dinosaurs with similar neck structures. Remains of this dinosaur were first discovered in the wild west dinosaur hunt.

Their long neck, small tail, feet and head put them in a family with dinosaurs with a shorter tail and longer neck. The heavy lizard is a species of B. lentus and under the family known as a type of sauropod.

In which geological period did the Barosaurus roam the Earth?

The Barosaurus roamed the Earth during the late Jurassic period or the upper Jurassic epoch to the Tithonian age, around 150 million years ago.

When did the Barosaurus become extinct?

This dinosaur with the name Barosaurus became extinct after the Tithonian age. It's hard to assume that they faced extinction due to hunting as their tail was used to defend themselves, their bones were quite strong, their feet were long and they weighed tons so they could easily defend themselves.

The reasons for their extinction can be evolution and lack of a suitable climate.

Where did a Barosaurus live?

North America and Africa were homes for these long-neck sauropods. Due to their long neck, they were able to eat plants or fruits which were very high. It can be believed that they lived in dense to medium vegatation.

What was a Barosaurus's habitat?

This is a very interesting topic to discuss and researchers worldwide point towards its long neck when it comes to describing its ideal habitat. These dinosaurs could not lift their head over their shoulders or else their hearts wouldn't pump enough blood.

Thus, while eating a plant they would simply move from one tree to another by sweeping their head. This gives the idea that their habitat was probably near trees that were very tall and they stayed away from club mosses and other small plant material.

Who did a Barosaurus live with?

There are tons of dinosaurs that lived alongside these dinosaurs in the Carnegie. The Diplodocus family only entertained herbivorous neighbors, so during that period dinosaurs such as the Ornithischian, the Dryosaurus, and the Stegosaurus lived with two species of the Diplodocus.

How long did a Barosaurus live?

Like other long-necked dinosaurs, the Barosaurus at the Carnegie quarry is also assumed to have lived for 20-30 years.

How did they reproduce?

The Barosaurus reproduced like modern-day lizards do. It's known that the Barosaurus used to lay eggs. Its strong bone structure which is found in the specimen and its tail came to good use to defend its young. The skeleton of the Barosaurus also reveals that they had larger and more vertebrae than any other specimen.

Barosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Barosaurus look like?

They had some of the most enormous vertebrae with a neck that was 49 ft (15 m) long. The specimen of the Barosaurus is very different than its neighboring species such as the lentus or Diplodocus.

The skull is yet not found, although the vertebrae of the Barosaurus and their necks were very significant features. Evolution played an important role in bones augmentation of the Barosaurus.

Their neck had a total of 16 vertebrae as found in the Barosaurus skeleton, which can also be seen by visiting a museum in New York or the Royal Ontario Museum where this long-necked Barosaurus can be found.

They had raphes on their neck and body, different from the relative species of similar length. It's very hard to find skulls of sauropods, so that discovery is still waiting to be made.

Their forelimbs, carpal bones, and long legs are very significant signs in their remains. They had an unusually small head compared to the overall body length of their skeleton.

How many bones did a Barosaurus have?

Around 16 vertebrae are present in the neck of the Barosaurus; the overall body count of bones is not known.

How did they communicate?

Almost all dinosaurs communicated through their tails, neck, and vocal calls.

How big was a Barosaurus?

The Barosaurus dinosaur was very big, their legs were extremely long and they had a short head. A Barosaurus dinosaur was 10 times the size of a Borneo elephant and around 11 times bigger than a Masai giraffe.

How fast could a Barosaurus move?

Their head was very small and much information about the skull is not known. Because they weighed tons their legs moved slower. This Barosaurus dinosaur with hind legs and a long neck moved very slowly.

How much did a Barosaurus weigh?

The Barosaurus is a relative of the Diplodocus and another long-neck dinosaur. It weighed over 12-20 t (10,889-18,143 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

Males and females are both addressed as Barosauruses; no different name is given to either sex.

What would you call a baby Barosaurus?

Barosaurus babies can be called nestlings or hatchlings.

What did they eat?

The Barosaurus was a herbivore, so it fed on plants, fruits, and seeds.

How aggressive were they?

This dinosaur from the Carnegie quarry was not dangerous or aggressive. It moved very slowly and had only five toes on it feet and had a short tail.

Did you know...

Hind legs of this dinosaur were used to defend and protect younger ones. Their hind legs were very useful that way.

Is the Barosaurus the biggest dinosaur?

Yes, it is one of the biggest species of dinosaur in history.

Did dinosaurs have two hearts?

There is no proof of that, but the idea of two hearts is discussed several times among scientists as some dinosaurs were giant and needed enough blood circulation from their feet to their neck. 

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Caribbean reef shark facts and horn shark fun facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable barosaurus coloring pages.