Diplodocus

Diplodocus; Temporal range: Upper Jurassic
	File:Diplodocus carnegiei.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Infraorder:	Sauropoda
Family:	Diplodocidae
Genus:	Diplodocus; Marsh, 1878

Diplodocus is a huge dinosaur from It lived during the Upper Jurassic period, about 145 to 155 million years ago. It was a vegetarian, eating mostly leaves with its peg-like teeth.

Size

Diplodocus was a long-necked, whip-tailed giant and could grow up to 27 m long. It had an 8 m long neck and 14 m long tail. Its weight was approximately 22,680 kg. It had a short 6 ft long head. Its size helped protect it from other dinosaurs. It used its long neck to poke into forests because its body was too big. It is also believed to have knocked the trees down. The longest species is the hallorum, which was thought to be the longest of all dinosaurs (now Amphicoelias).

Fossils

Diplodocus skeletons are among the longest dinosaur skeletons ever found. Fossils were discovered in Western North America, particularly in the Rocky Mountains of the western USA. A complete tail has never been found.

Seismosaurus

Seismosaurus was thought to be its own genus of dinosaur. In 2004 and 2006 it was decided to be a large species of Diplodocus.^[1]^[2] It is now known as Diplodocus hallorum.

Seismosaurus was the longest animal ever known, but paleontologists found they had misplaced vertebrae, making the body too long. Current length estimates are 33–36 metres long. Weight estimates vary from 40 to 60 tonnes. Weight estimates of other Diplodocus species are much lower: 10 to 17 tonnes.

Diplodocus Media

Diplodocus species size comparison.svg

Sizes of Diplodocus carnegii (orange) and D. hallorum (green) compared with a human (blue)
Diplodocus carnegii.jpg

Reconstruction of D. carnegii with horizontal neck, flexible whip tail, keratinous spines and nostrils low on the snout
Diplodocus caudal vertebrae NHM.JPG

Caudal vertebrae of D. carnegii showing the double-beamed chevron bones to which the genus name refers, Natural History Museum, London
Diplodocus sp. scale shapes.png

Diplodocus sp. scale shapes. These scale shapes include (1) rectangular, (2) ovoid and dome, (3) arching scale rows, (4) globular.
DiplodocusWyoming.jpg

Barnum Brown (left) and Henry Osborn (right) excavating a femur of specimen AMNH 223, 1897
Hatcher Diplodocus.jpg

Hatcher's original composite skeletal reconstruction of Diplodocus carnegii, 1901
Dinosaur National Monument vertebrae.jpg

Necks of two specimens embedded in the Dinosaur National Monument
Diplodocus at the Smithsonian Museum.jpg

The skeleton at National Museum of Natural History
Diplodocus tail.jpg

Allosaurus and D. hallorum, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

References

↑ Lucas S. et al 2004. Reappraisal of Seismosaurus, a late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur from New Mexico. Archived 2019-10-08 at the Wayback Machine The Geological Society of America, 2004 Denver Annual Meeting.
↑ Foster J.R., ed. (2006). "Taxonomic status of Seismosaurus hallorum, a late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur from New Mexico". Paleontology and geology of the Upper Morrison Formation. Bulletin. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (bulletin 36). pp. 149–161. ISSN 1524-4156.

[1] Lucas S. et al 2004. Reappraisal of Seismosaurus, a late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur from New Mexico. Archived 2019-10-08 at the Wayback Machine The Geological Society of America, 2004 Denver Annual Meeting.

[2] Foster J.R., ed. (2006). "Taxonomic status of Seismosaurus hallorum, a late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur from New Mexico". Paleontology and geology of the Upper Morrison Formation. Bulletin. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (bulletin 36). pp. 149–161. ISSN 1524-4156.

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