Re: Neck Defense

[Tyler Kerr <tylerkerr@comcast.net>]

   What about tails? Couldn't they serve as a powerful and fairly painful 
(for the recipient) way for the sauropod to deal with intruders? I would 
expect sauropods could keep the head high enough to keep it safe from 
predators (the neck might be more of a problem), so you'd  think that the 
predators would instead go for the belly (more, easier to access meat). I'm 
only a high school student, but I've read Bakker's Raptor Red quite a few 
times and he mentions a sauropod affectionately called a Whiptail that 
whirls and whips it's tail at attackers. Does this guy (the dinosaur, not 
Bakker haha) exist?

TK
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Andrew Simpson" <deathspresso@yahoo.com>
To: <Danvarner@aol.com>; <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 7:09 PM
Subject: Neck Defense


> The  more and more I look at this animal and other
> sauropods like it the more I'm convinced they were
> neck swingers. Violent neck swingers. besides size and
> maybe biting, it's their only defense.
>
> My only resistance to the concept is that I tend to
> think of the neck, even a powerful neck, as a
> vulnerable. The Giraffe of course uses the neck for
> rutting battles but don't know of it using it for
> defense. I suppose it's too high up and they have a
> good kick.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Andrew S.
>
> --- Danvarner@aol.com wrote:
>
> > I would image the  dinosaur is named for AMNH
> > artist, Mick Ellison. DV
> http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060320/full/060320-2.html
> >
>
>
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