New study suggests brontosaurus may actually be a real dinosaur

A rendering of an Apatosaurus
(Image credit: iStock)

If you've ever taken a paleontology class, you've heard that the brontosaurus is not a real type of dinosaur, despite its popularity in film. However, a new paper published in the journal PeerJ suggests the brontosaurus may have existed after all.

Charles Marsh, who discovered the brontosaurus in 1879, didn't provide enough distinction between the brontosaurus and the other dinosaur he discovered, the Apatosaurus, The Washington Post explains. The Apatosaurus skeleton he found wasn't complete, and later findings resembled both of Marsh's finds, so the dinosaurs were combined into one genus.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.