Re: Resting Sauropods

[Michael E Teuton <tons@ccs.logicsouth.com>]

It's harder to get away from predators if you're caught lying and especially
asleep and lying.  This is a favorite method of hyena to sneak up on topi.  I'm
not implying they could not or never did not, but I suspect they stayed on
their feet more often than not unless in large herds.

Roy Nash wrote:

> At 10:43 14/07/98 -0700, David Krentz wrote:
> >Subject:   Resting Sauropods                                 10:39 AM
> >7/14/98
> >
> >  While we're all letting our noodles drift from little therapods to Giant
> >Sauropods I'd like some to hear some educated  guesses regarding how they
> >rested.
>
> My guess is they just stood there. Giraffes do this - they are able to
> somehow lock their legs.  As sauropods probably lived in herds (or whatever
> the collective term is) they may well have slept propped up on each other.
>
> I don't subscribe, however, to the argument that lying down caused damage
> to their internal organs - these were powerful and robust animals, they
> could never have evolved if they had that sort of problem !