Diplodocus
What do you already know about this sauropod dinosaur?
How do you say it?
dip - lo - do - cus
di - plod - er - cus
The name Diplodocus means ‘double beam’.
Diplodocus lived during the late Jurassic Period. It was a sauropod dinosaur like Camerasaurus and Brachiosaurus. It was a very large dinosaur and was about 27 metres long. That is about as long as 3 double decker buses! Diplodocus walked on all four legs, which looked a bit like a giant elephants legs. Their back legs were a bit longer than their front ones. They had a very small head for the size of the rest of it. It looked a bit like a horses head. This also meant they had a very small brain so wouldn’t have been particularly clever dinosaurs!
Diplodocus had an extremely long neck, which was about 8 metres long and a tail that was even longer at about 14 metres long. Most of the time its neck was quite low to the ground, almost in line with its body and tail. This made it look even longer. They probably could lift their neck up though, helpful for reaching leaves from tall trees other dinosaurs couldn’t. It was once thought that Diplodocus dragged its tail on the ground but its now believed that is not true and it was instead held up in the air.
Diplodocus lived in herds for protection. Although it was a massive dinosaur other dinosaurs would attack it if they could, often in packs. This was especially true for young Diplodocus dinosaurs, so they were protected by the herd.
Another thing it would use to protect itself was its massive tail, which it could use a bit like a whip to scare other dinosaurs away.
Diplodocus was a herbivore which meant it only ate plants. It had to eat a lot of food to fill its huge stomach and it had to travel a lot to find enough food. Diplodocus only had peg like teeth and no molars (the big teeth at the back) to chew its food. To help it digest all the plants it would instead swallow stones which, would help grind the plants up.
Diplodocus fossils have been found in what is now America. Quite a lot of their fossils have been found so it is a dinosaur that palaeontologists know lots about.
What we've learnt...
The name Diplodocus means ‘double beam’.
People pronounce its name dip-lo-do-cus or di-plod-er-cus.
Diplodocus lived in the late Jurassic Period.
Diplodocus was a sauropod dinosaur and was one of the longest creatures to ever walk on land.
Diplodocus was a herbivore and had to swallow stones to grind down its food.
Diplodocus lived in herds to protect themselves from predators.
Test your knowledge...
Diplodocus Quiz
If you click the correct answer the box will turn green. If its the wrong answer it will turn red and then show you what the correct answer was. Make sure you read/listen to the questions carefully!
#1. How long was Diplodocus?
#2. How did Diplodocus break down its food?
#3. Did Diplodocus live in herds?
#4. Was Diplodocus…
#5. When did Diplodocus live?
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The photos on this page are of dinosaur models and computer generated images. They are used to give you an idea of what the dinosaurs would have looked like, but I can’t guarantee they are 100% accurate!
Unsplash Image used with thanks…
Dinosaur in the Woods by Arthur Shuraev
Other photos and illustrations on this page are Whizzbots, Shutterstock or Public Domain Images.