Diplodocus

Jurassic's giant

Diplodocus is one of the most famous dinosaurs, a truly gigantic creature of the late Jurassic that lived in the arid plains of North America. Its tail and neck were mainly responsible for its length of up to 28 metres. At the same time, Diplodocus could reach a weight of over 15 tonnes and was thus about four times as heavy as a full-grown elephant. To carry this huge body, Diplodocus had four columnar legs with massive bones that transferred its weight directly to the ground.

Diplodocus was a herbivore. Its powerful jaws and pencil-like teeth were excellent for grazing young leaves and shoots, but not for chewing. Therefore, Diplodoucs swallowed their food whole as well as small round pebbles found in riverbeds and on lakeshores. These pebbles, called gastroliths, then ground up the plant material in the stomach.

Despite its gigantic size, Diplodocus' brain was only the size of a fist. Therefore, it had a second nerve centre in the back half of its body. This second nerve centre was responsible for controlling the hindquarters and tail.