Thought for decades to be a misidentified Apatosaurus, scientists now say Brontosaurus might have actually been its own type of dinosaur all along
Step aside, Apatosaurus—because Brontosaurus is stomping back into the spotlight.
Named Brontosaurus in 1879, the dinosaur was at first considered so unique that scientists thought it deserved to be classified in a group of its own. Later in 1903 scientists realized Brontosaurus looked a lot like members of the Apatosaurus dino group. Reclassified as an Apatosaurus, the dinosaur dropped its original name.
But not everyone agreed that Brontosaurus—which means "thunder lizard" in Greek—was really an Apatosaurus. The name Brontosaurus lived on for decades in books and movies, until researchers in the 1970s showed that Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus had very similar skulls. The finding led even more people to stop using the title of Brontosaurus, practically dooming the name to extinction.
FAMILY TIES
Recently researchers published a study on diplodocids (pronounced dihp-LAHD-oh-sihds), the larger family that Apatosaurus dinos belonged to. Members of this group
