- #PREHISTORIC KINGDOM MORRISON FORMATION ART MOVIE#
- #PREHISTORIC KINGDOM MORRISON FORMATION ART SKIN#
Diplodocus discoveries have been made in Colorade, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming, so there is reason to believe that they stayed in the western-most part of North America. Where Did Diplodocus Live?Ī great number of Diplodocus fossils have been unearthed and they give us a good idea of what area these herds inhabited. When the food supply in their area became depleted, the moved elsewhere throughout the western North American continent to graze. Even though Diplodocus only moved at a walking pace, its long legs and huge size made it possible for this dinosaur to move at an estimated 12-22 miles per hour.ĭue to their large diets and herding tendencies, groups of Diplodocus were constantly on the move in search of food. The limbs of Diplodocus weren’t built for the stresses of jogging or trotting. Paleontologists use fossilized tracks, leg length, and mass to determine how dinosaurs walked and their research suggests that Diplodocus wasn’t much of a runner. The feet of a Diplodocus were similar to those of a modern-day elephant and both animals are large and sturdy creatures, so their walking motion should be similar. Just like the rest of the sauropods, Diplodocus was a quadrupedal walker. This dinosaur had to eat so much at its size it is hard to believe that it had a limited menu. Some experts hypothesize that they were also capable of reaching, with their long necks, into marshes and swamplands to eat soft water plants, perhaps even submerged plants. Studies of the skeletal structure of Diplodocus lead paleontologists to believe that Diplodocus could rear up on its hind legs to reach food high in the tree tops, allowing it to feed on many different levels. It is also thought that it fed on ferns, bushes, and the foliage of other trees. Conifers were the most abundant tree during the Jurassic Era, so it is safe to assume that these trees made up a large part of the Diplodocus diet. Fossil records show wear that indicates that it used its small head and slender teeth to reach into groups and of trees and strip branches of edible fibrous material.
What Did Diplodocus Eat? Image Courtesy of Flickr User The Swedish Experienceĭiplodocus was a strict herbivore. Some experts suggest that it may have also been used as a defense mechanism to ward off predators, but with such a heavy and lengthy neck being held up in a horizontal position, it’s hard to imagine the body and legs supporting that weight. At the other end was a 30-foot-long tail that might have had a primary role as a counterbalance.
#PREHISTORIC KINGDOM MORRISON FORMATION ART SKIN#
Skin fossils show that small spikes were present above the spine running from the upper part of the neck down to the tail.Īt the end of its long neck was a small head suited for stripping leaves off of branches. Paleontologists infer from the fossil remain that both the neck and tail were held parallel to the ground.
#PREHISTORIC KINGDOM MORRISON FORMATION ART MOVIE#
Contrary to movie and cartoon depictions, this dinosaur’s posture was nothing like that of a giraffe. One of the longest dinosaurs ever discovered, Diplodocus could grow to over 100 feet long. What Did Diplodocus Look Like? Image Courtesy of Flickr User malglamĭuring the Jurassic Era in western North America, herds of Dipodocus slowly lumbered about searching for foliage to eat. These dinosaurs are a common find in the Upper Morrison Formation and dozens of specimens have been recovered since its discovery. The double-beamed bones are thought to have been necessary for protecting, stabilizing, and controlling the massive tail of Diplodocus. Diplodocus is a Neo-Latin term from two Greek words meaning “double” and “beam”. Quick Facts Nameĭiplodocus, pronounced di-PLOD-o-kus, received its name from the double-beamed chevron bones found in its tail. It has since been out-measured by the likes of the Supersaurus or the rarely-mentioned Futalgnkosaurus, but Diplodocus played an important role in fueling the public’s imagination about prehistoric animals. At the time of its discovery, Diplodocus was the longest dinosaur on record. Diplodocus walked the Earth about 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic Era.