Question 1

How do you say Lusotitan?

Accepted Answer

Lusotitan is pronounced LOO-so-TIE-tan. Break it into four parts: LOO (like the word 'loo'), so (like the word 'so'), TIE (like a necktie), and tan (like a suntan). A good memory trick is to say 'a loose tie, tan' really fast, then clean it up into LOO-so-TIE-tan. The stress falls strongest on the third syllable, TIE.

Question 2

What does Lusotitan mean?

Accepted Answer

Lusotitan means 'Titan of Lusitania,' which is basically 'giant of Portugal.' Luso comes from Lusitania, the ancient Roman name for the region that is now Portugal, and titan comes from the mighty divine giants of Greek mythology. The species name atalaiensis refers to Atalaia, the Portuguese village near where the fossils were found. So the full name Lusotitan atalaiensis translates roughly as 'the giant of Portugal from Atalaia.'

Question 3

How big was Lusotitan?

Accepted Answer

Lusotitan was enormous, estimated at up to 82 feet (about 25 meters) in length, which is roughly the same as stacking four double-decker buses end to end. It likely weighed around 25,000 kilograms, which is heavier than three fully grown African elephants combined. As a brachiosaurid, it also had front legs longer than its back legs, giving it a body shape that sloped upward toward massive shoulders, making it look even more imposing from the front.

Question 4

Was Lusotitan the biggest dinosaur in Europe?

Accepted Answer

Lusotitan is one of the largest dinosaurs ever found in Europe, which is impressive because Europe is not typically known for producing giant sauropods the way North America or South America are. Its estimated 82-foot length puts it among the continent's biggest known dinosaurs. However, European paleontology is an active field and new discoveries are made regularly, so it is always possible a larger European species could be formally described in the future.

Question 5

Is Lusotitan related to Brachiosaurus?

Accepted Answer

Yes, very closely. Lusotitan belongs to the family Brachiosauridae, the same family as the famous North American Brachiosaurus. In fact, scientists originally classified Lusotitan as a species of Brachiosaurus itself, calling it Brachiosaurus atalaiensis from 1957 until 2003. A detailed reanalysis by Octavio Mateus and Miguel Telles Antunes in 2003 showed that the Portuguese fossils had enough unique features to deserve their own genus, but the family relationship with Brachiosaurus remains solid.

Question 6

Where was Lusotitan found?

Accepted Answer

Lusotitan fossils were found near Torres Vedras, a municipality in central-west Portugal, specifically near the village of Atalaia, which is commemorated in its species name atalaiensis. The fossils come from rock formations in the Lourinha region, which has become one of the most productive Jurassic dinosaur sites in all of Europe. This area has also yielded dinosaur eggs with embryos inside, large predatory dinosaurs, and many other remarkable Jurassic fossils.

Question 7

When did scientists discover Lusotitan?

Accepted Answer

The bones were first excavated in the 1940s and 1950s near Torres Vedras, Portugal. They were formally described and named as Brachiosaurus atalaiensis by researchers Lapparent and Zbyszewski in 1957. Lusotitan did not get its own genus name until 2003, when Portuguese paleontologist Octavio Mateus and colleague Miguel Telles Antunes reanalyzed the fossils using modern methods and determined the animal was distinct enough to stand alone as a new genus.

Question 8

What did Lusotitan eat?

Accepted Answer

Lusotitan was a herbivore, meaning it ate only plants. Like other brachiosaurids, it had spoon-shaped teeth that were ideal for stripping leaves and needles from branches rather than chewing them. Its enormously long neck would have let it reach the tops of tall conifer trees that were completely off-limits to smaller plant-eaters. Scientists believe large sauropods like Lusotitan had to eat almost constantly, possibly consuming hundreds of kilograms of plant material every single day just to fuel their massive bodies.

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