Diplodocoidea

Diplodocoidea is a superfamily of sauropod dinosaurs, which included some of the longest animals of all time, including slender giants like Supersaurus, Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and Amphicoelias. Most had very long necks and long, whip-like tails; however, one family are the only known sauropods to have re-evolved a short neck, presumably an adaptation for feeding low to the ground. This adaptation was taken to the extreme in the highly specialized sauropod Brachytrachelopan. A study of snout shape and dental microwear in diplodocoids showed that the square snouts, large proportion of pits, and fine subparallel scratches in Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Nigersaurus, and Rebbachisaurus suggest ground-height nonselective browsing; the narrow snouts of Dicraeosaurus, Suuwassea, and Tornieria and the coarse scratches and gouges on the teeth of Dicraeosaurus suggest mid-height selective browsing in those taxa. This taxon is also noteworthy because diplodocoid sauropods had the highest tooth replacement rates of any vertebrates, as exemplified by Nigersaurus, which had new teeth erupting every 30 days.

Diplodocoidea

Greg Tadek Kurpaski from London, Poland Derivative: User:MathKnight Marco Kabacchi stu_spivack Public domain · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
NeosauropodaPBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB, for Sauropoda
Life habit
ground dwelling, gregariousPBDB, for Sauropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Sauropoda
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Sauropoda

Time the record covers

At least 71 million years on record.

The record covers at least 161.5 Mya to 89.8 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 174.7 Mya to 85.7 Mya.

Early Jurassic — about 0 of 414 occurrencesMiddle Jurassic — about 3 of 414 occurrencesMiddle JurassicLate Jurassic — about 321 of 414 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 73 of 414 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 17 of 414 occurrencesLate Cretaceous176–173 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences173–170 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences170–167 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences167–164 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences164–161 Mya — about 2 occurrences161–158 Mya — about 1 occurrence158–155 Mya — about 4 occurrences155–152 Mya — about 63 occurrences152–149 Mya — about 95 occurrences149–146 Mya — about 95 occurrences146–143 Mya — about 64 occurrences143–139 Mya — about 3 occurrences139–136 Mya — about 5 occurrences136–133 Mya — about 6 occurrences133–130 Mya — about 2 occurrences130–127 Mya — about 1 occurrence127–124 Mya — about 5 occurrences124–121 Mya — about 8 occurrences121–118 Mya — about 4 occurrences118–115 Mya — about 3 occurrences115–112 Mya — about 9 occurrences112–109 Mya — about 12 occurrences109–106 Mya — about 8 occurrences106–102 Mya — about 4 occurrences102–99 Mya — about 5 occurrences99–96 Mya — about 7 occurrences96–93 Mya — about 5 occurrences93–90 Mya — about 1 occurrence90–87 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences87–84 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences161.5 Mya89.8 Mya176 Mya84 Mya

414 occurrences of Diplodocoidea on record, most of them in the Late Jurassic. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

414 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

38 formations

Morrison — 42.04°N, 106.39°WMorrison — 39.65°N, 105.19°WMorrison — 42.15°N, 105.92°WMorrison — 42.02°N, 106.05°WMorrison — 43.38°N, 108.12°WMorrison — 43.63°N, 108.20°WMorrison — 40.42°N, 109.21°WMorrison — 35.20°N, 107.13°WMorrison — 40.44°N, 109.30°WMorrison — 38.54°N, 105.22°WMorrison — 39.13°N, 108.73°WMorrison — 45.25°N, 108.75°WMorrison — 36.21°N, 103.63°WMorrison — 35.56°N, 106.77°WMorrison — 38.45°N, 107.40°WMorrison — 41.89°N, 106.04°WMorrison — 41.88°N, 106.06°WMorrison — 39.24°N, 109.00°WMorrison — 38.58°N, 108.40°WMorrison — 44.54°N, 107.78°WMorrison — 44.65°N, 107.82°WMorrison — 41.97°N, 106.29°WMorrison — 38.55°N, 105.24°WMorrison — 43.65°N, 106.78°WMorrison — 36.90°N, 102.83°WMorrison — 36.93°N, 102.97°WMorrison — 38.54°N, 106.81°WMorrison — 45.54°N, 110.62°WMorrison — 44.47°N, 103.31°WMorrison — 44.53°N, 103.83°WMorrison — 44.18°N, 103.34°WMorrison — 44.46°N, 104.73°WMorrison — 44.25°N, 104.41°WMorrison — 45.45°N, 108.10°WMorrison — 35.58°N, 106.94°WMorrison — 41.92°N, 106.36°WMorrison — 42.15°N, 105.89°WMorrison — 44.23°N, 103.38°WMorrison — 44.09°N, 106.78°WMorrison — 42.18°N, 106.32°WMorrison — 38.25°N, 110.81°WMorrison — 38.97°N, 109.32°WMorrison — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 41.98°N, 106.15°WMorrison — 44.65°N, 107.88°WMorrison — 38.50°N, 109.00°WMorrison — 45.22°N, 108.83°WMorrison — 44.02°N, 104.24°WMorrison — 36.10°N, 110.23°WMorrison — 38.85°N, 108.48°WMorrison — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 42.63°N, 105.44°WMorrison — 43.24°N, 104.29°WMorrison — 44.05°N, 107.46°WMorrison — 40.46°N, 108.39°WMorrison — 44.04°N, 106.42°WMorrison — 39.32°N, 110.69°WMorrison — 39.20°N, 106.93°WMorrison — 38.71°N, 109.74°WMorrison — 44.09°N, 106.87°WTendaguru — 9.71°S, 39.23°ETendaguru — 9.66°S, 39.25°ECandeleros — 39.51°S, 69.25°WCandeleros — 39.31°S, 68.80°WCandeleros — 39.38°S, 68.72°WCandeleros — 39.32°S, 68.72°WCandeleros — 38.35°S, 69.92°WCandeleros — 39.34°S, 68.94°WCandeleros — 39.22°S, 68.75°WCandeleros — 38.02°S, 69.15°WLourinhã — 39.22°N, 9.34°WLourinhã — 39.85°N, 8.62°WLourinhã — 39.25°N, 9.22°WLourinhã — 39.33°N, 9.36°WLourinhã — 39.35°N, 9.06°WLourinhã — 39.29°N, 9.34°WLa Amarga — 39.48°S, 70.19°WLa Amarga — 39.56°S, 70.15°WHuincul — 39.31°S, 68.80°WHuincul — 39.63°S, 69.18°WHuincul — 39.36°S, 69.03°WHuincul — 37.97°S, 69.23°WHuincul — 39.32°S, 68.95°WContinental Intercalaire — 28.50°N, 9.57°EContinental Intercalaire — 27.03°N, 1.08°EContinental Intercalaire — 26.77°N, 0.42°EContinental Intercalaire — 28.15°N, 8.18°EContinental Intercalaire — 28.53°N, 9.05°EContinental Intercalaire — 27.29°N, 2.58°EIrhazer Shales — 16.64°N, 7.94°EIrhazer Shales — 16.81°N, 7.99°EIrhazer Shales — 16.46°N, 8.01°EIrhazer Shales — 16.34°N, 8.05°EIrhazer Shales — 16.80°N, 6.93°EElrhaz — 16.63°N, 9.51°EElrhaz — 16.64°N, 9.57°EElrhaz — 16.45°N, 9.13°EElrhaz — 16.70°N, 9.33°EElrhaz — 16.47°N, 9.17°EAïn el Guettar — 32.95°N, 10.28°EAïn el Guettar — 33.17°N, 10.26°EAïn el Guettar — 32.68°N, 10.17°EBajo Barreal — 44.89°S, 69.39°WBajo Barreal — 45.29°S, 69.59°WBajo Barreal — 44.77°S, 69.18°WEchkar — 17.71°N, 5.80°EEchkar — 17.93°N, 5.62°EEchkar — 16.28°N, 10.53°ELohan Cura — 39.58°S, 70.09°WLohan Cura — 39.59°S, 69.40°WKadzi — 16.27°S, 30.80°EKadzi — 16.26°S, 30.69°EKirkwood — 33.75°S, 25.40°EKirkwood — 33.44°S, 25.45°EMulichinco — 38.50°S, 70.26°WAçu — 5.16°S, 38.10°WGara Sbaa — 30.51°N, 4.84°WCastrillo de la Reina — 42.02°N, 3.40°WCastrillo de la Reina — 42.02°N, 3.28°WAlcântara — 2.48°S, 44.46°WAlcântara — 2.89°S, 44.67°WVillar del Arzobispo — 40.12°N, 1.15°WVillar del Arzobispo — 40.66°N, 0.88°WWessex — 50.63°N, 1.41°WBajada Colorada — 39.82°S, 69.67°WToqui — 46.65°S, 72.38°W

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The named rock units Diplodocoidea has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 14 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 14 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Diplodocoidea and its relatives

Late Jurassic

Where Diplodocoidea and its relatives were recorded in the Late Jurassic.

Found in the same rock

462 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 295 sites for Diplodocoidea, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

185 references

Each of the 414 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 173 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Diplodocoidea

Credit
Greg Tadek Kurpaski from London, Poland Derivative: User:MathKnight Marco Kabacchi stu_spivack Public domain
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Diplodocoidea was found in Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itNeosauropoda through timeFormations of the Late JurassicThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Upchurch 1995)