Diplodocid

Diplodocids, or members of the family Diplodocidae ("double beams"), are a group of sauropod dinosaurs. The family includes some of the longest creatures ever to walk the earth, including Diplodocus and Supersaurus, which may have reached lengths of up to 34 metres (112 ft).

Diplodocids Temporal range: Middle Jurassic-Early Cretaceous,
Diplodocus
Scientific classification
Unrecognized taxon (fix):	Bagualosauria
Clade:	Flagellicaudata
Family:	Diplodocidae Marsh, 1884
Type species
†Diplodocus longus Marsh, 1878
Subgroups
†Amphicoelias †Apatosaurinae †Apatosaurus †Atlantosaurus †Brontosaurus †Diplodocinae †Barosaurus †Dinheirosaurus †Diplodocus †Galeamopus †Kaatedocus †Leinkupal †Supersaurus †Tornieria
Synonyms
Atlantosauridae? Marsh, 1877 Amphicoeliidae? Cope, 1878 Apatosauridae Huene, 1927

With their peg-like teeth they could strip leaves from branches, and leave the grinding to gastroliths. They bacteria in their vast stomachs would break down the cellulose in the leaves, and the product would be absorbed further on in the alimentary canal.

The diplodocids have two sub-families:

1. Diplodocinae: Diplodocus and other long, slender forms.
2. Apatosaurinae: Apatosaurus and other stockier types.

Their cousins the brachiosaurs are put into a sister family. The much later titanosaurs were the last group of sauropods on Earth.

Diplodocid Media

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  Diplodocus, depicted with spines limited to the mid-line of the back

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  Diplodocid heads have historically been restored in various ways: a) skull, b) classic rendering of the head with nostrils on top, c) with speculative trunk, d) modern depiction with nostrils low on the snout and a possible resonating chamber

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  Skin impression of a diplodocid, specimen CMC VP 10659

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  Seismosaurus (=Diplodocus)

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  Holotype specimens of Diplodocus carnegii and Apatosaurus louisae at Carnegie Museum of Natural History

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  Cast skeleton of Brontosaurus parvus based on the University of Wyoming specimen produced by Triebold Paleontology Incorporated