Fossils

Diplodocus longus

While DeWeese's Diplodocus is incomplete, there is enough of the skeleton for paleontologists to determine the species of dinosaur that DeWeese found in 1915. Paleontologists use bones and teeth to identify species, and in the case of DeWeese's dinosaur the distinct vertebrae of Diplodocus was recovered.

Diplodocus longus, was named by O.C. Marsh in 1878 for a few bones collected at the Marsh-Felch quarry, in the Garden Park Fossil Area in Cañon City, Colorado. Diplodocus grew to 24 meters (84 feet) in length and stood 4 meters (14 feet) tall at the hips, but despite its large size Diplodocus only weighed about 11 tons. Although 11 tons is a substantial weight, in dinosaur terms Diplodocus  was a light-weight and this is because of its slender skeleton and the fact that a large portion of the length of the dinosaur is neck and tail.

Diplodocus is classified as a plant-eating sauropod, which are characterized by long necks, long tails, massive, elephant-like legs, and small heads. The teeth of Diplodocus are most distinctive - having small, slender, pencil-like teeth that were used to eat succulent ferns, tree ferns, and conifers. No flowering plants existed at this time, so the dinosaur’s diet consisted of gymnosperms that are tough and fibrous. The teeth probably acted as a vegetable peeler; stripping the outer layers of the plants into easily digested pieces. Gastroliths (stomach stones) have been found near the fossilized remains of plant-eating dinosaurs and these suggest that dinosaurs also used stones to help break down fibrous plants during the digestive process.

Recently, carbon remains of Diplodocus skin have been discovered in the Morrison Formation of Northern Wyoming. The skin imprints shows that Diplodocus had a frill or fringe of small triangles, similar to lizards, extending along its tail, and that the skin covering the body was pebbly in texture.It is believed, based on paleo-environment interpretations, that Diplodocus walked on land, but probably lived near wet, muddy areas, such as near swamps or slow-moving streams.

DeWeese’s Diplodocus, although not complete and not on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, is important for the understanding of the physiology of large sauropods. Paleontologists from around the world visit the museum to study the bones discovered in Garden Park. And the bones are occasionally put on public display; thus allowing Colorado citizens to see a Colorado dinosaur.

Refs: Kenneth Carpenter, The Dinosaurs of Marsh and Cope: The Jurassic Dinosaurs of Garden Park (Canon City: Garden Park Paleontology Society, n.d.).