Re: Sauropod necks

["Allan Edels" <Edels@email.msn.com>]

Jeananda:

    You wrote:
>
>Someone just wrote me to let me know that there is no fossil evidence of
>horsetails in sauropod coprolites.  This could be a problem.
>


    My problem with that statement is the paucity of identifiable sauropod
coprolites.  In fact, the identification of dinosaur coprolites is often
very tricky, and most presumed dinosaur coprolites are, in fact, mere
presumptions.

    Karen Chin is of course the leading expert on the subject.  Some very
large pieces of coprolites from a herbivirous animal have been identified
(by her) as being from _Maiasuara_, only because that was the only very
large herbivore in the area the coprolites have been found.  (In addition,
Karen found evidence of dung beetle activity through the coprolites, giving
us our earliest evidence for those insects).  There are also some large
coprolites from a carnivore, that, based on time and location, are probably
from _T. rex_ - as far as I remember.

    I am unaware of any identified SAUROPOD coprolites - Someone else on the
list may have a paper indicating the opposite -  I'd like to hear about it.

        Allan Edels