Re: sauropod sleeping postures

[ornstn@inforamp.net (Ronald Orenstein)]

>If sauropods didn't sleep standing up, any thoughts on what posture they
>did assume to sleep? It seems to me that if they slept on their side, the
>large ones would have one heck of a time trying to get back up on their
>feet again. If they slept on their belly, they would probably have to fold
>their legs underneath them. Wouldn't the enormous weight cut off the
>circulation of blood to their limbs? Could they sleep leaning up against a
>tree?
>

Sauropods slept on their backs, with their feet directed vertically upwards.
Their heads and necks were inserted down long burrows specially dug for the
purpose.  I have tested this with various Carnegie models, and am quite
pleased with the results.  This also explains the well-known tendency of
Amargasaurus spp. to suffer from insomnia.

The tendency  among the uninitiated to mistake fossil traces of sauropod
neck burrows for volcanic fumaroles is directly responsible for the
tendency, already noted on this list, to fill the backgrounds of
reconstructions of these creatures with active volcanoes.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886 (home)
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116 (home)
Home: 1825 Shady Creek Court                  Messages: (416) 368-4661
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          Internet: ornstn@inforamp.net
Office: 130 Adelaide Street W., Suite 1940    
Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 3P5