Diplodocus facts for kids

Meet Diplodocus

Its name means double beam. It was named after pairs of small bones, like double beams, under its tail.

Diplodocus was one of the longest dinosaurs ever found, and most of that length was neck and tail. A grown Diplodocus was about 26 metres long. It was a sauropod, one of the giant plant-eaters that walked on four legs.

What were its neck and tail for?

Diplodocus used its long neck to reach plants high and low, and to drink water. It had a very long tail that ended in a thin whip.

What did Diplodocus eat?

Plants. Its teeth grew in rows like a comb, and it ate soft plants and leaves from trees.

When did Diplodocus live?

In the Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago, in what is now North America. It lived at the same time and in the same place as Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus and Allosaurus.

Diplodocus in a nutshell

• Name means: double beam
• Lived: about 150 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic
• Ate: plants
• Length: about 26 metres
• Found in: USA
• Lived at the same time as: Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Apatosaurus and Allosaurus

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