Kaatedocus

Kaatedocus was a slender diplodocid sauropod from the Late Jurassic of North America, discovered in the Morrison Formation of northern Wyoming. Known from an exceptionally well-preserved skull and articulated cervical vertebrae, it provides valuable insights into diplodocid evolution. Originally excavated by teams from the Sauriermuseum Aathal in Switzerland, the specimen was long assumed to be a Diplodocus or Barosaurus before formal description revealed several distinct anatomical traits. These include a unique frontomarginal crest on the skull and specific vertebral laminations in the neck. Kaatedocus had peg-like teeth concentrated at the front of its mouth, which it used to rake softer leaves and ferns from branches. Smaller and lighter than giant contemporaries like Diplodocus and Supersaurus, Kaatedocus was an agile low-to-mid level browser inhabiting river valleys and floodplains.

It preserves an unusually pristine skull and neck that established crucial details of diplodocine cranial anatomy.

Where and when

Kaatedocus lived in the Late Jurassic, from 154.8 to 150 million years ago (Kimmeridgian age). Its remains come from United States, in the Morrison Formation.

The numbers

Length 14 m (estimates run from 13 to 15 m). Mass about 4.9 t. Hip height about 3 m. That is 8.2 human-lengths, or 1.25 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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