The Wrong Headed Dinosaur

Sometimes paleontologists make mistakes with dinosaur fossils. You have probably heard of the great Brontosaurus (BRAHN-toe SOR-us). This is the dinosaur most people know best. Millions have seen it in books and advertising. Unfortunately, the Brontosaurus never really existed - even though it was pictured in almost every dinosaur book and museum for the last hundred years.

The dinosaur was discovered with the head missing. To make the skeleton complete, a scientist added a skull found three or four miles away. But no one else knew this. The skeleton actually belonged to a type of Diplodocus (Dip-LAHD-oh-kuss). The skull was from an Apatosaurus. (Ah-PAT-oh-SOR-us)