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Re: Sauropod Necks As Weapons



> From: "Jordan Mallon" <j_mallon@hotmail.com>
> Date: Thu, 5 Dec 2002 16:38:04 -0500
> 
> This reminds me of something I read in Crichton's Lost World a few years
> ago.  One of the characters in the book suggests that perhaps some
> sauropods grew such long necks in order to counterbalance their long,
> whip-like tails, and not _vice versa_.  Has there been any serious
> thought given to this?  Or is it even something to be taken seriously?

It seems preposterous to me, because it posits a transitional sauropod that
was out of balance, with a long tail and a neck inadequate to counterbalance
it. I don't think animals evolve unwieldy appendages and then evolve a
correction.