Group:	Dinosauria - Sauropodomorpha
Original Specimen Location:	Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Specimen Number:	CMNH 84
Age:	Late Jurassic
Where Found:	Wyoming
Date Found:	1899
Size:	90ft
Original Material:
Source:	DINOLAB
Type:	skeleton
3d Scan:	no

 

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Diplodocidae
Genus: Diplodocus

Diplodocus was an extremely long sauropod that lived during the late Jurassic (150 million years ago). An adult could reach a length of up to 35m, and an estimated weight of about 15,000 kg. It had a long, tapering whip-like tail that could probably have served as an effective defence mechanism, and was used to counterbalance the horizontally-held neck. Interestingly, the tail of Diplodocus had far more vertebrae than most other known sauropods. The four trunk-like legs were situated beneath the body of the animal, and the feet were cushioned with a spongy wedge of tissue on the 'heel', much like modern elephants.

The skull was long and narrow, and had long, peg-like teeth found only in the anterior of the jaw. It's probable that it relied on gastroliths to grind ingested food, like some modern birds and reptiles.

Type Species: Diplodocus longus

Marsh, OC. (1878). Principal characters of American Jurassic dinosaurs. Part I. American Journal of Science Vol. 3, pp. 411–416.

Locality:

Como Bluff, Wyoming, USA.

Scientific Resources:

Taylor, MP; and Naish, D. (2005). The phylogenetic taxonomy of Diplodocoidea (Dinosauria: Sauropoda). PaleoBios, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 1-7.

Stevens, KA; and Parrish, JM. (1999). Neck Posture and Feeding Habits of Two Jurassic Sauropod Dinosaurs. Science 30, Vol. 284, No. 5415, pp. 798-800.

McIntosh, JS; Berman, DS. (1975). Description of the Palate and Lower Jaw of the Sauropod Dinosaur Diplodocus (Reptilia: Saurischia) with Remarks on the Nature of the Skull of Apatosaurus. Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 187-199.