Diplodocus
dip-LOD-oh-cuss
Diplodocus is one of the biggest sauropods that has ever existed, at around 12 tons in weight and 24m in length. This gentle giant is a herbivore and uses its long neck to feed from tall trees (in fact, Diplodocus’ teeth are strong enough to strip bark) as well as plants and shrubs at ground level, while its vast size discourages predators from attacking.
Discovery
The first Diplodocus remains were discovered in 1877 by geologist Benjamin Franklin Mudge and paleontologist Samuel Wendell Williston in Cañon City, Colorado. Many more Diplodocus fossils have since been found nearby, with artefacts unearthed across the west of the United States.
Palaeoecology
Diplodocus lived in the Morrison Formation around 150m years ago during the Late Jurassic period and tended to live near swamps, where water was easy to come by and there was plenty of vegetation. Once fully grown it would not have had any natural predators, although juveniles may have been targeted by Allosaurus and Ceratosaurus.
Information
- Era
- Late Jurassic
- Family
- Diplodocidae
- Genus
- Diplodocus
- Height
- 4M
- Length
- 24M
- Weight
- 12T
- Diet
- Tall Paleobotany
- Egg batch size
- 1 - 2
