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Opisthocoelicaudia

Dinosaur profile

Opisthocoelicaudia

HerbivoreLate CretaceousSauropod

Pronunciation

Oh-pis-tho-see-lih-caw-dee-ah

Meaning

Posterior cavity tail

Type

Sauropod

Length

11 - 13 meters long

Period

Late Cretaceous

Years

72-68 million years ago

Location

Mongolia

Diet

Herbivore

About Opisthocoelicaudia

Opisthocoelicaudia is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Mongolia. It was a member of the family Diplodocidae, which also included animals like Diplodocus and Apatosaurus. Opisthocoelicaudia was a large animal, with some estimates suggesting it reached lengths of up to 30 meters (98 feet). It had a long neck and tail, and its body was supported by four sturdy legs. Like other sauropods, it probably had a small head relative to its body size, and it likely fed on plants using a combination of its small, toothless beak and rows of grinding teeth in its cheeks. Opisthocoelicaudia is known from a single specimen, which was discovered in the Gobi Desert in the 1970s.

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