Dinosaurs & Prehistory - Dinosaurs - Brontosaurus - Sauropods - Dinosaur taxonomy - Jurassic
What other genus name did Brontosaurus go by for much of the 20th century?
Correct!
Brontosaurus was described as a separate genus by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1879. However, as early as 1903, paleontologist Elmer Riggs concluded that the differences from Apatosaurus were not enough to treat both as separate genera. Because Apatosaurus had already been named in 1877, earlier, this name took precedence. As a result, Brontosaurus largely disappeared from scientific taxonomy for more than a century. Then came the surprising turn in 2015: Emanuel Tschopp, Octávio Mateus and Roger Benson examined numerous diplodocids based on hundreds of anatomical features. Their extensive phylogenetic analysis concluded that the differences were large enough to re-recognize Brontosaurus as a separate genus. The famous “thunder lizard” made a scientific comeback. However, the exact distinction between Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus is still a taxonomic hypothesis and not completely uncontroversial. The analysis published in 2015 forms the essential basis for today's reuse of the name.
Brontosaurus was long listed under Apatosaurus until an extensive analysis in 2015 supported Brontosaurus as a separate genus again.
