Brachiosaur

Brachiosaurids Temporal range: Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous, 157–93 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Mounted Brachiosaurus skeleton cast, Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Neosauropoda
Clade:	†Macronaria
Clade:	†Titanosauriformes
Family:	†Brachiosauridae Riggs, 1904
Genera
†Abydosaurus †Brachiosaurus †Cedarosaurus †Daanosaurus †Duriatitan †Europasaurus †Giraffatitan †Lusotitan? †Padillasaurus †Sonorasaurus †Venenosaurus

Brachiosauridae ("armed lizards", from Latin brachium = "arm" and Greek saurus = "lizard") is a family of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the leaves of tall trees that other sauropods would have been unable to access. In addition, they possessed thick spoon-shaped teeth which helped them to consume tough plants more efficiently than other sauropods. They have also been characterized by a few unique unambiguous synapomorphies; dorsal vertebrae with 'rod-like' transverse processes and an ischium with an abbreviate pubic peduncle.

Brachiosaurus is one of the best-known members of the Brachiosauridae family, and was once thought to be the largest land animal to ever live. They thrived in the regions which are now North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. They first appear in the fossil record in the Middle/Late Jurassic Period and disappear in the late Early Cretaceous Period.

The broad distribution of Brachiosauridae in both northern and southern continents suggests that the group originated prior to the breakup of Pangaea. In the Early Cretaceous the distribution of the family is dramatically reduced. It is still unclear whether this reduction is due to local extinctions or to the limited nature of the Early Cretaceous fossil record.

Brachiosauridae has been defined as all titanosauriforms that are more closely related to Brachiosaurus than to Saltasaurus. It is one of the three families that belongs to the Titanosauriformes clade of sauropod dinosaurs, which also includes Euhelopdidae and Titanosauria.