Dicraeosaurus was a genus of small diplodocoid sauropod dinosaurs that lived during the late Jurassic in what is now Tanzania. The first fossils were discovered in 1914 by paleontologist Werner Janensch. It was a relative of the small sauropods but slightly larger than Amargasaurus. The name Dicraeosaurus was derived from the Greek \"dikraios\" meaning bifurcated, forked, split and \"sauros\" meaning lizard in reference to the bifurcated or 'Y' shaped spines on its vertebrae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had a large, relatively short head and a broad neck. It had 12 unusually short vertebrae in its neck, which means that it could probably navigate vegetation only from ground level to a height of about 3 meters. It was a plant-eating dinosaur that walked on all fours. It does not have the whip tail that other diplodocids had. It has a spike that helps to recognize others of its own species, or were a form of defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dicraeosaurus reached 12 meters in length and weighed 12810 kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n