University of Toronto paleontologist Cary Woodruff calls the fossil “Andrew.” The skull and first vertebra of the little giant were found among the roughly 150 million-year-old strata in a particular spot called the Mother’s Day Quarry where multiple young Diplodocus were entombed. The skull is special for two reasons. “While over one hundred Diplodocus specimens are known,” Woodruff says, “fewer than a dozen skulls exist, and of those, only a few are from immature animals.” Andrew adds to that list, and, on top of that, is the smallest Diplodocus skull yet known. The fossil is described today in Scientific Reports.
Andrew wasn’t just a pint-sized version of an adult Diplodocus, though. In addition to being much cuter—the large eyes and short snout adding to that puppy-dog look—the muzzle and teeth of this dinosaur may indicate that it was living very differently than the grown-up sauropods.
I painted the cast for this guy 🙂 will post pics once it’s revealed
thisacelovesheadcanons 