Dicraeosaurus

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Sauropodomorpha > Plateosauria > Massopoda > Sauropodiformes > Sauropoda > Gravisauria > Eusauropoda > Neosauropoda > Diplodocoidea > Dicraeosauridae

Overview: Diplodocoid sauropods are split into a few major families, one of those being the family Dicraeosauridae, for which Dicraeosaurus is the namesake. While not as famous as some of their diplodocid relatives like Apatosaurus or Diplodocus, the dicraeosaurids were quite successful, being found in rock layers spanning from the Middle Jurassic and into the Early Cretaceous, all across the globe. Dicraeosaurus itself lived towards the end of the Late Jurassic, with its fossils being found in the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania. The first of these were discovered by German fossil hunters in the first decade of the twentieth century. In 1914, the renowned Werner Janensch published the description of the remains, establishing the genus Dicraeosaurus. Studies of the Tendaguru suggest Dicraeosaurus would’ve inhabited a semi-arid and seasonal coastal plain lined by lagoons and river systems. Other dinosaurs from the region included the sauropods Giraffatitan and Tornieria, some ornithopods like Dysalotosaurus, stegosaurs like Kentrosaurus, and Veterupristisaurus – a relatively large allosauroid and likely the region’s apex predator.

Dinosaurs belonging to the Dicraeosauridae were usually relatively small by sauropod standards. In the case of Dicraeosaurus, it was about fourteen or so meters long at most. Dicraeosaurids tended to have shorter necks than other diplodocoids, which we can also see on Dicraeosaurus. One other notable trait was their odd vertebrae, which often had forked neural spines. In some cases, like on Bajadasaurus and Amargasaurus, these spines were extremely elongated, possibly supporting dual neck sails. The forked neural spines on the neck of Dicraeosaurus were far shorter, probably being used to support strong neck muscles. With its shorter neck, Dicraeosaurus probably fed from lower level vegetation, allowing it to avoid competing with other sauropods. The neck’s profile probably would’ve looked unusually tall or thick due to its neural spines and muscles. Potential food for this dinosaur would’ve included cycads, ferns, horsetails, and conifers, the stems and branches of which it would’ve stripped with its thin, pencil-like teeth. As with other diplodocoids, Dicraeosaurus had a rather small skull. Its generic name refers to its forked neural spines.