Diplodocus

Diplodocus is one variety of sauropod dinosaurs common in the late Jurassic period. Two other examples of the over 75 genera of sauropods are the Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus) and the Brachiosaurus. Sauropods are characterized by their relatively small heads compared to their large body size and by their extremely long necks. Sauropods were the dominant herbivores at the end of the Jurassic and the beginning of the Cretaceous Periods, the time when Diplodocus was found. They probably fed as do elephants and giraffes today, on the leaves of tree tops. Diplodocus needed to eat a lot of plants to maintain its adult size of 26 meters and 10 tons. It had a slender skull with a long muzzle and teeth only in the front of the jaw. Unlike the teeth of many herbivores, its teeth were undifferentiated into grinding and tearing teeth, indicating it did not chew its food, but simply bit off vegetation and swallowed it whole. If the animal did not chew its food, then it would have had problems digesting the plants it ate. It is thought food was digested by bacterial action in the gut, probably aided by the presence of a gizzard-like structure full of stones Diplodocus swallowed. These stones (called gastroliths) acted as grinders, the same way stones in a bird's gizzard help it to grind food. Although it is uncertain whether sauropods lived in herds with complex social structures as do for example zebras or elephants, there is evidence to suggest they lived, or at least traveled in groups. While most scientists believe they were cold-blooded, maintaining body temperature through their large size, others believe they were warm-blooded, like mammals and birds. It is generally thought sauropods were egg laying dinosaurs. While other varieties of sauropod fossils are found throughout the world, Diplodocus fossils are found in the western United States.

This page submitted to WebDoGS by:

Deb Boissonneault

Information obtained from:
Dinosaurs: The Textbook; Lucas, S.G.; Wm. C. Brown, Publishers; Dubuque, IA; 1994.
The Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs; Currie, P.J., Padian,K., eds.; Academic Press; SanDeigo, CA; 1997.

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