Liekeze's  Prehistoric  World

Due to the incomplete nature of all known Brachiosaurus specimens, most skeletal reconstructions of Brachiosaurus are based on the fossil remains of its close relative Giraffatitan (giraffe-a-titan). Unlike most dinosaurs, whose front limbs were shorter than their hind limbs, Brachiosaurus' front limbs were longer than its hind limbs. This would have given Brachiosaurus a body that sloped upward from its relatively short tail.

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While the skeletal appearance of Brachiosaurus does not vary much from reconstruction to reconstruction, most external reconstructions tend to fall into two categories, those that are "shrink wrapped" and those that are not. "Shrink wrapping" refers to the reconstruction process of applying only muscles to the bones before wrapping the animal in tight fitting skin. This process does not account for the fat reserves and soft body structures that many modern animals possess. When the "shrink wrapping" process is applied to the skeletons of modern animals (like the zebra shown below), truly alien creatures appear. However, some animals (like the modern giraffe) are relatively lean animals whose external shape closely follows that of their skeleton. We may never know what amount of extra body mass dinosaurs possessed, but we should always keep an open mind when reconstructing these animals.