RE: Sauropod Trunks

["Stewart, Dwight" <Dwight.Stewart@VLSI.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MGibb21521@aol.com [SMTP:MGibb21521@aol.com]
> Sent: Sunday, November 15, 1998 1:12 PM
> To:   dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject:      Sauropod Trunks
> 
> I just joined this list...
> I was wondering what anyone's input on the concept of sauropods having
> trunks
> was...
> If you examine a _Brachiosaurus brancai_ skull, you can see deep grooves
> coming down from the nostrils to the snout.  This can also be observed in
> _Nemegtosaurus_, _Antarctosaurus_, and _Diplodocus_, among others.  Also,
> what
> would be the purpose of nostrils high on the head besides a trunk; we know
> that the large sauropods were not highly dependent on water as once
> thought...
> A trunk (or a 'snout', like on a swine) on a sauropod could help it eat
> more
> efficiently and make it easier for the animal to remove vegetation from
> trees.
> 
> Chandler
> 
> #####################################
> 
        I know I've heard this suggestion before somewhere, but can't recall
where; but it's an intriguing idea!
        After the concept of the top located nostrils used as a 'snorkel'
was pretty much abandoned, I don't recall a viable alternate explanation
being floated that has been as widely accepted.  Some people 
        have suggested it was for auditory purposes.  Of course, even IF the
auditory explanation is true, that doesn't preclude the presence of a trunk.
Elicits an interesting mental image.

        Dwight