Re: MAMENCHISAUR NECKS

[Ronald Orenstein <ornstn@inforamp.net>]

>I still fail to see how an incredibly long neck (particularly so in
>_Mamenchisaurus_) is necessary for ground-level "grazing". Could it
>possibly expend less energy to keep moving that ridiculous pipeline of
>neck around than it would to just take a few steps to reach new fodder?

It might be useful for grazing on water plants growing in an area that a
large,
heavy-bodied animal could not reach directly without becoming mired in the mud
at the bottom of the pond, or bog, or whatever.  I have no idea if such things
were around at the time of Mamenchisaurus, of course.


--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
1825 Shady Creek Court                 
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          mailto:ornstn@inforamp.net