Kaatedocus
"small beam"
Type species Kaatedocus siberi
- Lived
- 155 to 149 million years ago, Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods, Diplodocidae
- Found in
- United States
- Named by
- Tschopp and Mateus 2013
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
150 million years ago
Habitat
It lived in the Morrison Formation's world in Wyoming during the Late Jurassic. Allosaurus, Stegosaurus and Apatosaurus also lived in this region.
Field notes
About Kaatedocus
What it was like
Kaatedocus was a long-necked sauropod, one of the whip-tailed diplodocoids and a relative of Diplodocus. It is known from a well-preserved skull and neck. Its peg-like teeth sat at the front of a long, low snout.
Its world
It lived in the Late Jurassic in what is now Wyoming. Its bones come from the Morrison Formation, where it shared the land with Allosaurus, Stegosaurus and many other sauropods.
How it was found
Tschopp and Mateus named it in 2013. The type species is Kaatedocus siberi. The first part of the name comes from the language of a native people of the region.
Field gallery
More views of Kaatedocus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Kaatedocus.
The evidence
The science behind Kaatedocus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A well-preserved skull and a nearly complete neck form the basis of its description.
- Its snout is more rounded than that of adult Diplodocus, and its teeth extend farther back along the jaws.
- The neck vertebrae have hollows and ridges, with forked spines farther back along the neck.
Borrowed from relatives
- The trunk, limbs and long tail are restored by comparison with other whip-tailed sauropods, including Diplodocus and Barosaurus.
Still unknown
- Its full-grown body size and proportions.
- Its skin covering and color.
- Its exact place among the whip-tailed sauropods.
Discovery timeline
- 2013Named itTschopp & Mateus
- 2015Family treeTschopp, Mateus & Benson
- 2017Growing upWoodruff, Fowler & Horner
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Kaatedocus
Named it
Described a distinctive skull and neck, with a rounded snout and features suggesting an animal approaching adulthood.
The skull and neck of a new flagellicaudatan sauropod from the Morrison Formation and its implication for the evolution and ontogeny of diplodocid dinosaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 11: 853-888
No link available
Family tree
Compared individual sauropod skeletons and recovered Kaatedocus close to Barosaurus.
A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda). PeerJ 3: e857
Read the paper : A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) (opens in a new tab)Growing up
Examined how sauropod bones changed during growth and discussed skull openings and neck spines also used to assess Kaatedocus.
A new multi-faceted framework for deciphering diplodocid ontogeny. Palaeontologia Electronica
Read the paper : A new multi-faceted framework for deciphering diplodocid ontogeny (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Diplodocidae
Sources: Wikidata