Diplodocus was a giant sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Jurassic period, between approximately 155 million and 145 million years ago. The animal was typically around 85 feet (26 meters) long, but some grew as large as 100 feet (31 meters) long.
Diplodocus can be distinguished from other sauropods such as Apatosaurus (sometimes also known as "Brontosaurus") and Brachiosaurus, by its relatively light build. Diplodocus weighed only around 11 tons, which perhaps only about one third of the weight of Apatosaurus, and about only one eight of the weight of a Brachiosaurus. Additionally, Diplodocus has a comparatively long neck (about 46 feet), very long tail (about 46 feet), but short body (13 feet long) and tiny head (2 feet long).
Fossil
During life, Diplodocus was a herbivore (plant eater). It was once thought that Diplodocus held its head up high, but today many scientists believe that Diplodocus probably kept its head relatively close to the ground. Support for this position comes from arguments about Diplodocus' heart (some scientists believe it would not have been strong enough to pump blood to the brain via an upright neck), and the shape of the animal's neck vertebrae.
The first fossil skeleton of Diplodocus was found in 1878 by Benjamin Mudge and Samuel Wendell Williston, and this specimen was named by Othniel C. Marsh. Interestingly enough, Marsh thought that Diplodocus may have been aquatic - he based this opinion on the position of nasal openings in Diplodocus' skull. Today however, the aquatic theory is not so widely held - and many scientists now think Diplodocus was a land-based herbivore that grazed plants at ground level.
Diplodocus Facts
By S. Tanna. Discover more about Diplodocus at http://www.dinosaurjungle.com/dinosaur_species_diplodocus.php
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