Diplodocus

The Diplodocus was a large, long-necked quadrupedal dinosaur that lived 150 to 147 million years ago in western North America at the end of the Jurassic Period.

Fast Facts

1. Name Means: "Double Beam"
2. Naming Credit: Othniel Charles Marsh (1878)
3. Range: Western North America
4. Classification:
   1. Order: Saurischia
   2. Family: Diplodocidae
   3. Genus: Diplodocus
   4. Type Species: Diplodocus longus
5. Period: Late Jurassic
6. Length: Up to 115 feet
7. Weight: Approximately 15 tons
8. Very Small Skull
9. Extremely Long Tail
10. Small, Peg-Shaped Teeth

Small Brain, Whip-Smart

With its four elephantine legs, suspension-bridge body, long neck, and tiny brain, Diplodocus possesses the archetypal dinosaur body type popularized in books, movies, and commercial media. The earth literally trembled when it walked, and that enormous bulk served as a built-in defense against the much smaller predators it co-existed with.

Giant size was not its only weapon. Based on computer modeling of the Diplodocus tail, scientists hypothesize it could snap the tip with the proportional impact of a gigantic whip. This would be a bone-crushing tool against predators. The tail may also have been used in reproductive display: the sound generated by the whip-crack would have been louder than a cannon.

Soft Tissue Speculation

Diplodocus' nasal openings are on the top of its head. Originally, this led scientists to believe the beast spent most of its time in deep water supporting its weight and breathed by keeping just its eyes and nostrils above the water like a crocodile. Subsequent discoveries show the Diplodocus lived in grasslands and plains, their body weight balanced by long neck and long tail.

This has led to speculation that the nasal openings actually indicate Diplodocus may have had a trunk, and that the actual nose was closer to the mouth. Because fossil remains almost never include representation of soft tissue, this hypothesis may never be confirmed.

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