Dilophosaurus vs Diplodocus

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Dilophosaurus and Diplodocus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Property Dilophosaurus Diplodocus
Scientific Name Dilophosaurus wetherilli Diplodocus longus
Classification Theropoda Sauropoda
Period Jurassic Early Jurassic Late
Diet Carnivore Herbivore
Length 7.0 m 25.0 m
Height 2.0 m 5.0 m
Weight 400 kg 14.0 t
Discovery Year 1954 1878
Discovery Location Tuba City, Arizona, USA Canon City, Colorado, USA
Named By Samuel P. Welles Othniel Charles Marsh
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Size Comparison

Dilophosaurus 7.0 m

roughly the length of a large SUV

Diplodocus 25.0 m

about as long as 5 cars end-to-end

Weight Comparison

Dilophosaurus 400 kg

about 6 adult humans

Diplodocus 14.0 t

about the weight of 2.3 elephants

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Timeline Comparison

Dilophosaurus
201.4 Mya Jurassic Early (Mesozoic) 174.7 Mya
Diplodocus
161.5 Mya Jurassic Late (Mesozoic) 145.0 Mya
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Diet Comparison

Dilophosaurus

Carnivore

Dilophosaurus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.

Diplodocus

Herbivore

Diplodocus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

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Classification Comparison

Dilophosaurus

Clade: Saurischia

Group: Theropoda

(Beast feet)

Diplodocus

Clade: Sauropodomorpha

Group: Sauropoda

(Lizard feet)

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Did You Know?

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Diplodocus was about 3.6x longer than Dilophosaurus.

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Diplodocus weighed roughly 35x more than Dilophosaurus.

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Dilophosaurus was a carnivore while Diplodocus was a herbivore.

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Dilophosaurus lived during the Jurassic Early while Diplodocus lived during the Jurassic Late, separated by roughly 13 million years.

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Diplodocus was discovered 76 years earlier, in 1878.

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Dilophosaurus belonged to Theropoda while Diplodocus belonged to Sauropoda.

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