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Name:
Australodocus (Greek for "southern beam"); pronounced AW-stra-la-DOE-kuss
Habitat:
Woodlands of Africa
Historical Period:
Late Jurassic (150 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 50 feet long and 10 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Large size; extremely long neck and tail
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About Australodocus:
The name Australodocus will prompt two associations in the mind of the average dinosaur fan, one true and one mistaken.
The true one: yes, this sauropod was named in reference to the North American Diplodocus, to which it was closely related. The mistaken one: the "australo" in this dinosaur's name doesn't refer to Australia; rather, it's Greek for "southern," as in southern Africa. The limited remains of Australodocus were discovered in the same Tanzanian fossil beds that have yielded a number of other late Jurassic sauropods, including Giraffatitan (which may well have been a species of Brachiosaurus) and Janenschia.