Dino card No. 0202 of 2,027

Australodocus

Say it: aw-strah-loh-DOH-kus

Name means: “southern beam”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Australodocus was a giant, long-necked plant-eater that lived about 150 million years ago in what is now Tanzania, Africa. It had a very long neck and walked on all four legs, munching leaves from trees.1 3

Lived

149 to 143 million years ago3

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Lindi Region, Tanzania1

Food

Plants3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Australodocus was named in 2007 by paleontologist Kristian Remes.3

Its fossils were found in the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania, which are famous for many dinosaur discoveries.2

Only two neck bones (cervical vertebrae) have been found so far, so scientists are still guessing what the whole animal looked like.2

At first, scientists thought Australodocus was a diplodocid (like Diplodocus), but newer studies suggest it might be a titanosauriform, a different group of sauropods.1

The species name bohetii honors Boheti bin Amrani, the African crew supervisor of the German Tendaguru Expedition.2

Australodocus lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 150 to 145 million years ago.1 3

AI-made picture of Australodocus — An AI-made picture of how Australodocus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Australodocus

?How big was Australodocus?

About 17 metres long and weighed around 4,000 kilograms. That is as heavy as a large elephant.1

?What did Australodocus eat?

It was a plant-eater that ate leaves from trees, using its long neck to reach high branches.1

?Is Australodocus a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period.1

?Why is Australodocus called a southern beam?

Its name means 'southern beam' from Latin and Greek, because it was first thought to be a southern relative of Diplodocus.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Australodocus
Named by: Remes 20073
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Somphospondyli3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Macronaria3
Age of the rocks: 149 to 143 million years (Tithonian)3
Rock formations: Tendaguru3
Countries: Tanzania3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Australodocus was named by Kristian Remes in 2007 based on two neck vertebrae found in the Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania.3 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Australodocus was a diplodocid or a titanosauriform, because only a few neck bones have been found.1

Where the facts come from

Australodocus (en.wikipedia.org)
A SECOND GONDWANAN DIPLODOCID DINOSAUR FROM THE UPPER JURASSIC TENDAGURU BEDS OF TANZANIA, EAST AFRICA - REMES - 2007 - Palaeontology - Wiley Online Library (web.archive.org)
Australodocus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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