The Dinosaur That Got Mistaken for Another

About this drawing

The long-necked apatosaurus has one of the funniest mix-ups in dinosaur history. Paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh named it in 1877. Two years later he named another huge plant eater Brontosaurus, and in 1903 scientists decided the two were really the same animal. Apatosaurus, the older name, officially won.

That wasn't the end of it. Brontosaurus stayed famous in books and movies for decades anyway, and in 2015 a large study of these skeletons argued that it deserved its own name after all. So the two may be close cousins rather than one dinosaur, and experts still look closely at the differences.

Even the name fits the story. Apatosaurus means "deceptive lizard," and this giant lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. It was as long as a couple of school buses parked end to end, and it spent its days eating plants.

On this page, the curved neck and the long tail make one big sweeping shape, which is great for practicing smooth coloring. The small lines on the legs and neck show where a darker shade can add depth. Try soft blues on the far hills so your dinosaur stands out up front, then choose a surprising color for the spots on its back.

• dinosaurs
• apatosaurus
• long neck
• jurassic