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Dippy: The tale of a museum icon

Meet one of the world’s most famous dinosaur models in this engaging tale of discovery.

A guide to one of the longest land animals ever to walk the Earth.

By Museum experts Paul Barrett, Polly Parry and Sandra Chapman.

ISBN: 978 0 565 09259 7

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Dippy: The tale of a museum icon

£ 4.99

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The book tells how the 26-metre-long Diplodocus skeleton, which dominates the Museum's Central Hall, is one of the world’s most famous dinosaur models. Known affectionately as ‘Dippy’ among Museum staff, it has fascinated and enthralled visitors since it was first revealed to an astonished public in 1905.

Dippy’s tale begins some 150 million years ago in the late part of the Jurassic period - the time from which the original fossil dates. Dippy is an exact plaster replica of the fossilized bones found in the badlands of Wyoming, USA. The story of how Dippy came to the Museum is one that involves danger and adventure in the harsh environment of the American Wild West, the generosity of an eccentric millionaire and the involvement of the British royal family.

Featuring delightful artworks and photographs, the book combines an engaging narrative with details of key dinosaur fossil finds and the latest research on Diplodocus anatomy and behaviour. It also reveals the emergence of Dippy’s importance to scientists, as studies on Diplodocus kick-started a renaissance in the understanding of the biology of the group it belongs to, the sauropods.

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