Apatosaurus Max and friends show their bones in Switzerland
The dinosaur museum in Aathal near Zurich is about to unveil a complete rare collection of dinosaur skeletons from the late Jurassic period. They were found during a Swiss-led dig in Wyoming in the United States.
The bones and skull of an Apatosaurus – named “Max” by the Swiss team – joins the nearly complete skeleton of an Allosaurus (“Big Al Two”), as the two most impressive finds among the collection. The exhibition opens on April 16.
One of the largest land animals that ever existed, the plant-eating Apatosaurus measured up to 27 metres in length and weighed at least 30 tonnes.
It had a small head at the end of a very long neck, which enabled it to feed on the foliage of trees and kept its vulnerable body parts out of reach of the smaller but most dangerous predator of the period, the Allosaurus.
Visitors to the museum will now be able to compare both skeletons, and observe palaeontologists at work.
The seven dinosaur skeletons in the collection will remain at the museum in Aathal until next year when they will start a world tour beginning in Tokyo.
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