Kaatedocus

Type Species: Kaatedocus siberi

Classification: Dinosauria – Saurischia – Sauropoda – Gravisauria - Eusauropoda - Neosauropoda - Diplodocoidea – Flagellicaudata – Diplodocidae – Diplodocinae

Time Period: Late Jurassic 

Location: North America

Diet: Herbivore   

Until 2012 this sauropod was believed to be a variant of Barosaurus; only when it was determined by intense study that the remains belonged to a new genera (albeit one closely related to Barosaurus) was this sauropod coined. Kaatedocus was fifty feet long, making it much smaller than its cousin Diplodocus, which could reach up to ninety feet in length. Kaatedocus had a gracile body, a whip-like tail, a very long neck, a small head, and a toothy grin thanks to overly large teeth. Its teeth were pencil-shaped like those of other diplodocids, but they were much larger, giving Kaatedocus a clownish appearance. The pencil-like teeth were designed to strip foliage off plants rather than to chew the plant material; the ‘chewing’ happened in Kaatedocus’ gut where gastroliths – swallowed stones – worked to pulverize the plant material for further digestion.