Louise's Liar Brontawk - Apatosaurus lousiae

I thought I posted this one a while ago, but I guess it completely slipped my mind!

You may know that Apatosaurus' name comes from the Greek root for "Deception". This was because its discoverer, Othniel Marsh, described the vertebrae as looking more like a Mosasaur's than any other dinosaur known at the time. Although the type species is A. ajax, named in 1877, this image depicts A. lousiae, found in 1909 as the first Apatosaurine skull found. The new, slender shape certainly fit the body better than the big, blocky skull of Camarasurus that was used as a stand-in up to that point. Even so, the finding never truly gained scientific consensus until it and its close relative, Diplodocus, were redescribed in the early 80's along with nearly all the rest of paleontological knowledge at the time.
Also, I guess it is somewhat inaccurate to draw it eating conifers when it was more adapted to low-lying shrubs and horsetails, but in times of plenty, it certainly didn't need to be picky. The more you know!

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