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Diplodocus

Dinosaur Quick Study: The Diplodocus

I was always a fan of the diplodocus growing up.  This large beast, a cousin to the apatasaurus and brontosaurus, is the longest dinosaur ever discovered to date.


This beautiful herbivore was first discovered in Wyoming in the late 1890's, its skeleton nearly full intact.  The diplodocus measures up to 90' long head to tail, which is the length of a basketball court and weighed 15-20 tons.

Interesting facts:
Andrew Carnegie procured the first discovered diplodocus skeleton.  He was so delighted that he had molds created from the original skeleton to share with museums around the world.

Diplodocus (dih-PLOD-uh-kus) is Greek for Double Beam, referring to the double-beamed structure of spines on the tail vertebrae.

Diplodocus is a sauropod, meaning a long necked dinosaur.

The teeth were pencil-like and used to strip leaves.  The teeth were on the front of the jaw only.  Scientists have recently discovered that the diplodocus replaced teeth every 35 days due to the wear-and-tear of their teeth from stripping branches and wearing away the enamel.  The average tooth length of a diplodocus was 39.36 mm.

Resources:
BBC
BBC Nature
CarnegieMNH.org
National Geographic
National Park Service, Utah

Link to amazing find:

Diplodocus Teeth Regeneration

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