Apatosaurus/Brontosaurus

[Alex-DinoFood]

Now that Brontosaurus is back, I have a question maybe you guys can answer me:
I have two great Apatosaurus models, the Papo one & the 2010 Wild Safari one, the best ones the market (except the Sideshow one... but too expensive & stuff... ).
Until now it was easy. They were both Apatosaurs.
Now my question is, which is which? Is the Papo one Apatosaurus louisae & the Safari one Apatosaurus excelsus (now Brontosaurus) or are they both
based on Apatosaurs ajax and/or Apatosaurs louisae?

[Manatee]

The Papo appears to, from my point of view, be based on A. louisae, while the Safari most closely resembles A. ajax. However, I'm not certain, and I'm sure there are some others who are more knowledgeable on the subject who can also answer.

[Alex-DinoFood]

Huh... I thought as much about the Papo one. There's an Apatosaurus louisae skeleton at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in an almost identical pose. The Holotype I belive.
I wasn't sure about the Safari mdel.
Guess now I'm gonna need a Brontosaurus model...

[Dinoguy2]

In the blog entry on the WS model they mention the pose looks like it's based on a GSP skeletal. Google images does show a skeletal that's a good match for the neck width and posture labelled A. louisae. The Papo one also has a very wide neck. I think both are Apatosaurus. One thing that distinguishes Brontosaurus is a slightly thinner neck, and the WS one is sorta right on the line... Maybe ask Doug Watson what references he used?

[Alex-DinoFood]

Maybe I will!
Thanks for the answer guys!

[Gryphoceratops]

Apatosaurus louisae has the tallest neck vertebrae out of all of them.  Brontosaurus excelsus has wide neck vertebrae.  Other species of each genus are somewhere in between looking.  The Papo model looks like a Brontosaurus excelsus to me but who knows.  I don't think any of the models really look like an Apatosaurus louisae.  Doesn't mean none of them were based off it though.