FACT SHEET: Diplodocus

FACT SHEET: diplodocus

NAME: DIPLODOCUS (dip-LAW-doh-kus), meaning: "Double-beam" SIZE: 90 feet long (the size of an airplane), weighed 15 tons TYPE OF DIET: Herbivore (leaves from conifer trees) WHEN: Early Jurassic period (155 - 145 million years ago) WHERE: Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, North America

Diplodocus was one of the largest sauropod plant-eaters during the Jurassic period. It lived between 155 and 145 million years ago. Diplodocus grew to be about 90 feet long. That’s about as large as an airplane. Its nostrils were at the top of its head. Some paleontologists believed that this allowed Diplodocus to spend more of its time underwater. Now we believe this dinosaur was more of a land creature. From fossils we have learned that Diplodocus had a row of small spikes running down its back. This was useful protective armor for these large creatures. The name “Diplodocus” means "double-beamed”. This unusual name comes from the bones on the bottom of its tail. The vertebrae along its tail had extra T-shaped bones pointing downwards. These strange bones let Diplodocus hold its long tail straight out behind it. With this extra support, Diplodocus could move its tail around like a whip. Diplodocus was an herbivore, meaning that it only ate plants. It had small, blunt teeth, but only in the front of its mouth. This was useful for stripping leaves off trees. Its main food was the leaves from conifers. Paleontologists believe it had to eat between 300 and 400 pounds of leaves a day! Diplodocus may have moved from place to place in large groups or herds. When a group had eaten all the food in one area, they would migrate - or travel - to another place. They could live to be 100 years old.