Dicraeosaurus

Dicraeosaurus was a small, specialised sauropod that lived in eastern Africa during the Late Jurassic, approximately 152 million years ago. Excavated from the famous Tendaguru beds of Tanzania by German expeditions, it reached twelve to fourteen metres in total length. Unlike its long-necked cousins such as Diplodocus, Dicraeosaurus had a comparatively short, flexible neck, indicating that it specialised in feeding on low to medium shrubs rather than high tree crowns. Its neck and back vertebrae featured high, Y-shaped forked spines that supported strong neck muscles or a double row of defensive ridges. This distinctive anatomy defined the family Dicraeosauridae, which later produced even more elaborately spined forms such as Amargasaurus.

It had a remarkably short neck for a sauropod, composed of just twelve stout cervical vertebrae.

Where and when

Dicraeosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic, from 155.7 to 150.8 million years ago (Kimmeridgian age). Its remains come from Tanzania, in the Tendaguru Formation.

The numbers

Length 13 m (estimates run from 12 to 14 m). Mass about 4.9 t. Hip height about 3 m. That is 7.6 human-lengths, or 1.16 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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