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Giraffatitan, Late JurassicTendaguru Formation, Tanzania · named 1988
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Giraffatitan

juh-RAF-uh-TY-tan

"giant giraffe"

Lived
152 to 143 million years ago, Late Jurassic
Diet
Herbivore
Length
about 23 m (75 ft)
Group
Sauropods, Brachiosauridae
Found in
Tanzania
Named by
Paul 1988

Size comparison

To scale

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

41 finds

150 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

Giraffatitan lived on coastal river plains in Tanzania, near sandy rises and wooded ground. Ferns probably grew beneath the trees; neighbors included Kentrosaurus, Dicraeosaurus and Dysalotosaurus.

Field notes

About Giraffatitan

What it was like

Giraffatitan was an enormous sauropod, reaching about 23 meters (75 feet) long, with front legs longer than its back legs, giving it a sloped back like a giraffe's and letting it hold its long neck high. It was a herbivore, likely browsing on leaves well above the reach of most other plant eaters.

For decades it was considered one of the largest dinosaurs known, though later discoveries of other giant sauropods showed several of those animals were even heavier.

Its world

Giraffatitan lived from about 152 to 143 million years ago, spanning the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, in what is now Tanzania. Its fossils come from the Tendaguru Formation.

It shared its habitat with the plated Kentrosaurus, the predators Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, and Veterupristisaurus, the fast-running Elaphrosaurus, and other plant eaters including Dicraeosaurus, Dysalotosaurus, and Tornieria.

How it was found

Giraffatitan was first described as a species of Brachiosaurus, a sauropod originally found in North America, before later study showed enough differences to place it in its own genus, named by Paul in 1988. With about 41 fossil finds known, it is one of the best-documented giant sauropods from the Tendaguru Formation.

Field gallery

More views of Giraffatitan

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Giraffatitan in its habitat, photo 1

1 of 7

Lived alongside

Found in the same rock formations

A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Giraffatitan.

The evidence

The science behind Giraffatitan

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • Skulls and extensive skeletal remains show a small head, long neck and deep body.
  • Its front legs were longer than its hindlegs, raising the shoulders above the hips.
  • The tail was relatively short compared with the long tails of Diplodocus and its relatives.

Borrowed from relatives

  • Much of the body is known from its own bones, so its basic proportions need little borrowing from relatives.
  • Skin covering and the fleshy shape of the nose are inferred from comparisons with other sauropods and living reptiles.

Still unknown

  • Its skin texture and color.
  • The exact resting position and full range of motion of its neck.
  • Whether it traveled in groups or cared for its young.

Often drawn wrong

  • A long trunk or tall fleshy tube above the nose is an unsupported addition.
  • Rows of forward-facing elephant-like toenails give its compact front feet the wrong shape.

Discovery timeline

  1. 1988Named itPaul
  2. 2009RedescriptionTaylor
  3. 2009PostureTaylor, Wedel & Naish
  4. 2013Full descriptionTaylor & Wedel
  5. 2014PostureTaylor

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Giraffatitan

Close relatives

Other members of Brachiosauridae

Sources: Wikidata