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Brachiosaurus altithorax
Paleontological Data
Brachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived 145 million years ago. Brachiosaurus is the namesake genus of the family Brachiosauridae, which includes a handful of other similar sauropods. They were herbivorous quadrupeds with longer forelegs than hind legs and long necks with very small heads at the end. Their tails were relatively short for sauropods and their necks stretched high into the air like a giraffe.
Brachiosaurus is one of the rarer sauropods and only a relative handful of specimens are thought to belong to the genus. It is regarded as a high browser, probably cropping or nipping vegetation as high as 30 ft off of the ground. Unlike other sauropods it was unsuited for rearing on its hindlimbs. It has been used as an example of a dinosaur that was most likely ectothermic due to its large size and the corresponding need for forage, but more recent research finds it to have been warm-blooded.
Large air sacs connected to the lung system were present in the neck and trunk, invading the vertebrae and ribs, greatly reducing the overall density. Size estimates have placed this behemoth at 75,000lbs, and 85 feet long.
Park Data
There's a surprisingly large amount of modern paleontological data on these animals, considering the early misclassification of the african morphs. Size estimates are a bit on the heavy side, and in reality the largest bulls of this species top out around 65,000 lbs, but do in fact reach 83 feet in length. They reach up to 45 feet tall and adults graze on tree tops eating mostly conifers, tree ferns and large cycads. They feed best on Gingko Biloba trees, but it is difficult to keep Gingkos alive in their compound due to the fact that they eat so much of it. Luckily on our new island the sheer number of cycads keeps the herds happy. A single adult eats up to 800lbs of plant matter every day, and a single herd contains up to 35 individuals causing devistation to our forests. We have started shipping in hay bales and lifting them into the trees to feed the brachiosaur with little success.
Adults tend to move in herds that are male dominant. Generally the males are tolerant of eachother within a herd until breeding season when they compete for breeding rights. Displays consist mostly of tail-swinging and slow battles pressing up against eachother until the other male backs down. Occasionally they may throw their necks into the other male, but this is often dangerous and can break bones or wind pipes.
Adult females breed several times during mating season and lay up to a dozen eggs in each nest, but only a few young survive from each nest to reach adulthood. They preform only one motion of child care, and that is to burry their robust eggs in dirt and their own dung in piles nearly six feet tall. This prevents carnivores from easily discovering the eggs. Then the herd moves on.
Young brachiosaur we knew nearly nothing about. We quickly discovered that these animals that grew to be as tall as two houses stacked atop one another started out as less than the size of a small baby elephant - around 175lbs. These young sauropods are left alone and helpless and are easily susceptible to carnivores. Their only form of defense is to immediately begin to grow rapidly. Young brachiosaur exhibit a strange behavior that we never expected to see. They are omnivorous as young eating small dinosaurs, eggs, large bugs and just about anything that they can get their mouth around. The higher levels of protein and fats in their diet results in an incredible growth rate. As young they sleep only two or three hours a day and the rest of their time is spent fueling their growth. Within a month they have doubled in size and by the end of a year they are bigger than a full-grown elephant. By the time they are five years old they are growing too-big for the forest life, but they are also too big to be attacked and are nearly 20,000lbs. At this point they leave the jungles to join the herd that they were born to, to finish their growth as complete herbivores. They find this herd by listening for the sounds of other brachiosaur, which are deep and sub-sonic like elephants and they recognize eachother by scent.
They reach full-size when they are 10-12 years, and this is also when they are sexually mature. Most of our brachiosaur die around 15 years old and will lay an average of 10 eggs in 10 nests each year, and although this means they produce 100 eggs per year only 1 out of ever 100 will grow large enough to leave the forest.
Herds wander, grazing constantly and are rarely attacked but instead form their own ecosystem based on smaller omnivores, birds and bugs that follow them, eating eggs and undigested plant matter in the feces. Herds of these animals change their environment more massively then elephants.
When a brachiosaur dies, it becomes food for dozens of other animals. The sheer size of these beasts means that a single adult death in the herd will feed an adult T.Rex for months. Any time a brachiosaur dies in the facility we send a team out to take tissue samples for DNA examination, and then the rest of the flesh is dispersed throughout the park for feeding the pickier carnivores. The bones are cleaned and preserved so that we may consider selling them to museums later.
In regards to the changes made from altering the DNA, we have found few in these animals. Their ability to breathe has become a problem for us, as they are not as adapted as many other species. We fear that the 18 year lifespan may be cause by this as earlier estimates places these creatures as living nearly 30 years.
Their colors tend to be what you may expect from these animals, being dark on top with stripes, blotches or streaks in the scaling on the backs and outsides of the legs. Around the crest there tends to be an exceptional amount of sensitive blood vessels that become flush with many bright colors when the beasts are excited, especially during mating season. The males tend to come in much brighter colors than the females.
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