Re: Sauropods and lung development

["Jarno Peschier" <jarno@nedstat.nl>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Philidor11@aol.com <Philidor11@aol.com>
To: JNorton@MAILBOX.UNE.EDU <JNorton@MAILBOX.UNE.EDU>
Cc: dinosaur@usc.edu <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Date: vrijdag 25 september 1998 10:52
Subject: Re: Sauropods and lung development


>Mr. Norton writes that 'The predatory advantage of having the head at the
end
>of a long and flexible neck is as yet unproven...'
>Wouldn't a long, flexible neck be advantageous for a predator with prey
which
>could shift direction quickly such as fish or small mammals?  I'm thinking
of
>plesiosaurs in addition to various birds.  I've wondered why each seemed to
>have small heads; seems that a wider net might catch more prey.


Maybe just a matter of easy physics: a small "projectile" (=the head) takes
less energy to propel, steer or in short, to control. A wider net might
catch more prey, but is very akward and inefficient at the end of a long
neck. A very small "projectile" at the end of a neck might maneuver fast
enough (within the confines of the space it can reach because it's attached
to the neck and thus to a body that might not be moving so fast or at all)
to catch the quick moving and direction changing small preys.

Jarno Peschier

Compass Interactive / NedStat
www.nedstat.nl / www.sitestat.com