Jurassic
Giraffatitan
Giraffatitan brancai
The catalogue presents Giraffatitan as a herbivore member of Brachiosauridae that lived during the Jurassic, between 150 Ma. Its estimated range is 26.0 m in length and 40 t in mass, giving a practical sense of scale. Reference material comes from Tendaguru, Tanzania. Size and mass are approximations and may change with new fossils or methods.
Evidence-backed summary
For Giraffatitan, the PBDB records the taxonomic attribution as (Paul) (1988).
The PBDB places it in Brachiosauridae, and the catalogue record assigns it to the family Brachiosauridae.
- PBDB · taxon.parent
- Brachiosauridae
In the PBDB record, the reported stratigraphic range runs from the Oxfordian to the Tithonian.
The PBDB catalogues 42 occurrences, with material from the Tendaguru Formation (42). Provenance: Tanzania.
The catalogue records the holotype as HMN SII and the type locality as “Tendaguru, Tanzania”.
- HMN SII
- Tendaguru, Tanzania
The catalogue's reference measurements are 26.0 m in length and 40 t in mass — estimates, which vary with specimen and method.
- 26.0 m
- 40 tons
The record gathers 14 bibliographic references registered in the PBDB, listed below.
Where it lived
Fossil occurrences on today’s map and in the tectonic reconstruction.
Positions reconstructed by PBDB/GPlates, not observed; this is not an exact habitat map.
Artistic 3D reconstruction
There is no approved species-specific 3D model yet. Generic anatomy will not be presented as if it were evidence.
Physical Specifications
- Length
- 26.0 m
- Weight
- 40 t
- Period
- Jurassic
- Time range
- 150 Ma
Discovery Information
- First Discovery
- 1914
- Described by
- Werner Janensch
Taxonomic Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Saurischia
- Family
- Brachiosauridae
- Genus
- Giraffatitan
- Species
- G. brancai
Data status
Taxonomic name matched to PBDB and checked on 2026-08-08.
Taxonomic linkage does not automatically validate size, mass, behaviour or appearance.
- Type specimen
- HMN SII
- Type locality
- Tendaguru, Tanzania