Diplodocus now common scientific opinion that "Seismosaurus hallorum" is a species of "Diplodocus". This genus of dinosaurs lived in what is now mid-western North America at the end of the Jurassic period. "Diplodocus" is one of the more common dinosaur fossils found in the middle to upper Morrison Formation, between about 154 and 152 million years ago, during the late Kimmeridgian age. The Morrison Formation records an environment and time dominated by gigantic sauropod dinosaurs, such as "Apatosaurus", "Barosaurus", "Brachiosaurus", "Brontosaurus", and "Camarasaurus". "Diplodocus" is among the most easily identifiable dinosaurs, with its typical sauropod shape, long neck and tail, and
Dinosaur egg and a system of classification based on the structure of eggshell was developed in China before gradually diffusing into the West. Dinosaur eggshell can be studied in thin section and viewed under a microscope. The interior of a dinosaur egg can be studied using CAT scans or by gradually dissolving away the shell with acid. Sometimes the egg preserves the remains of the developing embryo inside. The oldest known dinosaur eggs and embryos are from "Massospondylus", which lived during the Early Jurassic, about 190 million years ago. In 1859, the first scientifically documented dinosaur egg fossils were discovered in southern