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Size:
11 metres tall
Weight: 30 tonnes
Distribution: Europe
Description: Pelorosaurus
was a member of the tallest of all dinosaurs - the brachiosaurs.
Some members of this group, found in Africa and North America
were over 13 metres tall –nearly 3 times the height of a modern day
giraffe. However, judging
from the size of its leg bones, it appears that pelorosaurus was smaller
than the brachiosaurs found in other areas of the world.
The enormous height of these dinosaurs was down to their unusual
gait. The from legs are
much longer than the hind legs so, unlike other sauropods, they would
have stood, and moved in an upright position.
This would have enabled pelorosaurus to feed on the uppermost
regions of trees – a resource no other ground living animals of its
time would have had access to. Although
the remains of this dinosaur (from England and possibly Portugal) are
extremely fragmentary, small, bony nodules have been found associated
with the skeleton which suggest that pelorosaurs had a partially
armoured skin. This may
make pelorosaurus unusual amongst the brachiosaurs as no other members
of this family have been found with armour.
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