Genus
Valid Extinct

Dicraeosaurus

Janensch 1914
Etymology Reptile fourchu

Dicraeosaurus is a genus of diplodocoid sauropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Lindi Region, Tanzania during the late Jurassic period. The genus was named for the neural spines on the back of its neck. The first fossil was described by paleontologist Werner Janensch in 1914.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
19
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Dicraeosaurus
click to enlarge
Dicraeosaurus skeleton at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. © FunkMonk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Saurischia Unranked clade
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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
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Massopoda Unranked clade
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Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
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Sauropoda Unranked clade
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Gravisauria Unranked clade
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Eusauropoda Unranked clade
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Neosauropoda Unranked clade
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Diplodocoidea Unranked clade
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Diplodocimorpha Unranked clade
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Flagellicaudata Unranked clade
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Dicraeosauridae Unranked clade
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Dicraeosaurinae Unranked clade
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Dicraeosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
14,8 m ⓘ
Dicraeosaurus sattleri — min connu
15,5 m ⓘ
Dicraeosaurus hansemanni — max connu
20 m ⓘ
Mass
5 300 kg ⓘ
Dicraeosaurus sattleri — min connu
6 000 kg ⓘ
Dicraeosaurus hansemanni — max connu
Fossil sites 19 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇹🇿 Tanzania
18
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
1
Geological formations
Tendaguru
18
Kadzi
1
Temporal distribution
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
15
Kimmeridgian (154.8–149.2 Ma)
3
Oxfordian (161.5–154.8 Ma)
1
Species (2)
Dicraeosaurus hansemanni 162 Ma
Dicraeosaurus sattleri 152 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
W. Janensch. 1914. Übersicht über die Wirbeltierfauna der Tendaguru-Schichten [Overview of the vertebrate fauna of the Tendaguru beds]. Archiv für Biontologie 3:81-110
Bibliography (6)
W.-D. Heinrich. 1999. The taphonomy of dinosaurs from the Upper Jurassic of Tendaguru (Tanzania) based on field sketches of the German Tendaguru Expedition (1909-1913). Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, Geowissenschaften Reihe 28:25-61 DOI ↗
M. A. Raath and J. S. McIntosh. 1987. Sauropod dinosaurs from the central Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, and the age of the Kadzi Formation. South African Journal of Geology 90(2):107-119
W. Janensch. 1961. Die Gliedmaszen und Gliedmaszengürtel der Sauropoden der Tendaguru-Schichten [The limbs and limb girdles of the sauropods of the Tendaguru Beds]. Palaeontographica, Supplement VII (1) 3(4):177-235
W. Janensch. 1929. Die Wirbelsäule der Gattung Dicraeosaurus [The vertebral column of the type of Dicraeosaurus]. Palaeontographica, Supplement VII (1) 2(1):37-133
W. Janensch. 1929. Material und Formegehalt der Sauropoden in der Ausbeute der Tendaguru-Expedition, 1909-1912 [Material and figured content of sauropods in the yield of the Tendaguru Expedition, 1909-1912]. Palaeontographica, Supplement VII (1) 2(1):3-34
W. Janensch. 1914. Übersicht über die Wirbeltierfauna der Tendaguru-Schichten [Overview of the vertebrate fauna of the Tendaguru beds]. Archiv für Biontologie 3:81-110