SAFARI LTD Diplodocus Figure

This well-known, long-necked dinosaur was named in 1878. Many Diplodocus skeletons are known from the Jurassic deposits of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Some early reconstructions wrongly portrayed Diplodocus in a sprawling posture, but this would have required a trench in the ground to accommodate its deep chest. Other researchers suggested it was amphibious and spent its life in the water to support its great weight. In reality, Diplodocus stood tall on straight, pillar-like legs and was fully terrestrial. It spent all of its time on land using its long neck to browse on tough vegetation. The industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who funded many early dinosaur excavations and to whom the species D. carnegii refers, donated casts of his namesake to museums around the world. These replicas were taken from an original Diplodocus skeleton in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, and ended up in Europe, Russia, Argentina and Mexico. This contributed to Diplodocus becoming recognized around the globe. Preserved soft tissues in some specimens show that Diplodocus had scaly skin, and may have had soft triangular spines along the top of its neck, back and tail. Its extremely long, whip-like tail was probably used as a defensive weapon. Diplodocus is one of the most famous long-necked dinosaurs. At over 88 ft long from the tip of its snout to the end of its whip-like tail, Diplodocus is as long as three buses. This ground-shaking plant eater occupied North America during the Late Jurassic, about 153 million years ago. Feature: - Scientific Name: Diplodocus carnegii - Characteristics: Diplodocus was a plant eater that had a tiny skull relative to the size of its giant body. It had simple, peg-like teeth for stripping leaves, a long neck, and an especially long whip-like tail. Diplodocus walked on all fours and its front feet had a single claw on the thumb. A row of soft, triangular spines may have extended along the top of its neck, back, and tail. - The Diplodocus is part of the Wild Safari® Prehistoric World collection Specifications: - Dimensions: 47.43 L x 11.55 H - Dimensions: 18.67 L x 4.55 H