Sauropod Musings

[rjmeyer@ix.netcom.com (Rob Meyerson)]

How substantial is the evidence that sauropods travelled in herds?  Is there 
fossil evidence to back this up?

I ask this because I have some ecological-concerns about the Herding Sauropods 
Paradigm.  Take Diplodicus for example: according to Bakker, one animal has the 
same weight as a herd of elephants.  The nutritional requirements for such an 
animal are going to be rather immense.  I mean, if a herd of elephants can 
demolish a small forest in one day, imagine what a herd of Diplodicus would 
have done.  If diplodicus herded, they would totally obliterate the vegetation 
in there area.  Also, most Jurassic aged flora were slow growing.  It seems to 
me that this is extinction waiting to happen.

I propose that sauropods travelled alone (or perhaps a mother/baby unit) and 
that the big ones were relatively rare.  I suggest that the young had a low 
survival rate, but the adults were pretty safe from all predators, just as an 
adult elephant is safe from all modern predators, except us of course.

Comments?

Shalom,

Rob Meyerson

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"Listen to the music, not the words."
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