Giant Dinosaur Posture Is All Wrong: Sauropods Held Their Heads High, Research Finds

[Nicholas]

ScienceDaily (May 27, 2009) — Famous depictions of the largest of all known dinosaurs, from film and television to museum skeletons, have almost certainly got it wrong, according to new research.

Find the article HERE!

[Gatorman]

Umm I've always seen them depicted that way.

[Nicholas]

Umm I've always seen them depicted that way.

There had been some debate about it, a while back it was said that they held them straight out, now they are up again...

[fosceal2]

OK So BBC needs to redo "Walking with dinosaurs" - Hey any reason for more good dino documentaries is good with me!

Fosceal

[TygerTyger]

I hate stories like this. First, previous representations of sauropod posture were based on information that was considered correct at that time and, usually at least, not just on the whim of people like the BBC. Such criticism being based on hindsight can come across as simply crass and does in this instance.

Second, I believe that there was some work done on the level of pressure required to maintain an adequate blood supply to the head of a sauropod with an elevated neck using a giraffe as a base model. At the time, and I am working purely on memory here, it was considered beyond the abilities of an ectothermic metabolism to achieve the pressure required. I also believe that some argued about the physiological mechanics of an animal like a Brachiosaur being able to raise and lower such a huge neck, the pressure on tendons, ligaments and vertebrae were considered too great. I note that there is no reference to these considerations in the article, only extant animals with long necks that may be distantly related to the dinosaurs.

It may well be that sauropods did enjoy the ability to move their necks with abandon but we need to see some serious study into the technical problems of such action, such blood pressure and muscle tension, not just a comparison with a giraffe and an ostrich.

[Guest N.AL.hunter]

All we need to do is clone them and we can answer all these questions. My first introduction to dinosaurs was the book "Danny and the Dinosaur" which showed his head held high, so that is what I believe!!

[grampa dino]

If they could put the wrong skull on the wrong body, why can't they change their minds on how the thing held it's head

IS that the way you always hold or head, or are you just happy to see me

[Boesse]

Tyger,

Thought I'd mention that sauropods were not ectothermic - their growth rates determined via bone histology argue against that (and as well for most other dinosaurs).

I dislike oversimplified arguments based on oversimplified physiologic reconstructions of fossil organisms. I'm not sure many of them are valid.

Bobby

[TygerTyger]

Tyger,

Thought I'd mention that sauropods were not ectothermic - their growth rates determined via bone histology argue against that (and as well for most other dinosaurs).

I dislike oversimplified arguments based on oversimplified physiologic reconstructions of fossil organisms. I'm not sure many of them are valid.

Bobby

But they were considered ectothermic when the research I mentioned was carried out, in fact I seem to remember that it was postulated that if sauropods were capable of elevating their necks then they could not have been ectothermic, but the accepted theory of the time was that dinosaurs were indeed ectothermic, therefore, they must have held their necks mostly horizontally.

That said, I was always in the camp of Professors Ostrom and Bakker, so that means I would accept quite readily the ability of a sauropod to graze the top treeline, only I wouldn't look to rubbish previous theories in the process.