Giraffatitan

dinosaur · sauropod · Tanzania · giant

Massive sauropod dinosaur. Giraffatitan was a huge long-necked dinosaur that lived in what is now Tanzania, Africa, during the late Jurassic Period millions of years ago.

Originally mistaken identity. Scientists first thought Giraffatitan was the same species as the North American dinosaur Brachiosaurus and called it Brachiosaurus brancai, but later research showed they were actually different enough to be separate species.

Named after a paleontologist. The dinosaur was named Giraffatitan brancai in honor of Wilhelm von Branca, a German paleontologist whose expedition to Tanzania led to its discovery.

Found in Tendaguru. Giraffatitan's fossils were discovered in the Tendaguru Formation, a famous fossil site in the Lindi Region of Tanzania that has revealed many incredible dinosaur remains.