Dino card No. 0519 of 2,015

Diplodocus

Say it: dip-LOD-oh-kus

Name means: “double beam”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Diplodocus was a super long dinosaur that lived about 150 million years ago. It had a very long neck and an even longer tail, and it used its pencil-like teeth to strip leaves from plants. Despite its huge size, it was lighter than many other giant sauropods.2 1

Lived

158 to 143 million years ago3

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, USA3 2

Food

Plants2 1

Length

24.3 to 28 m1 2

estimates vary

Weight

15 tonnes2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Diplodocus had about 80 vertebrae in its tail alone, which made up almost one third of its entire body length.1

Its tail was very long and whip-like, and scientists think it might have been used to make loud cracking sounds to scare off predators.2

Diplodocus had narrow, pointed bony spines lining its back, which may have helped support its body.2

Ligaments running from its hip to the back of the neck helped Diplodocus hold its neck horizontally without using much muscle effort.2

An Apatosaurus of similar size would have weighed two to three times more than a Diplodocus, because Diplodocus was lightly built.1

Diplodocus lived in a hot, dry environment like a savannah, alongside dinosaurs such as Allosaurus, Brontosaurus, and Stegosaurus.2

AI-made picture of Diplodocus — An AI-made picture of how Diplodocus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Diplodocus held its neck straight up like a giraffe.

Truth: Scientists now believe that Diplodocus held its neck horizontally, supported by strong ligaments, not upright.2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Diplodocus
Named by: Marsh 18783
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Diplodocidae3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Diplodocoidea3
Age of the rocks: 158 to 143 million years ()3
Rock formations: Morrison3
Countries: USA3
Fossil records: 66 in the Paleobiology Database3
Also known as: Seismosaurus (older names now counted as the same animal)3
Discovery: Diplodocus was first described in 1878 by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh during the 'Bone Wars', a fierce competition between fossil hunters.1 3
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Diplodocus could crack its tail like a whip to make a loud sound, or if it was used for other purposes.2

Where the facts come from

Diplodocus longus - Dinosaur National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Diplodocus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Diplodocus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.