Re: Sauropod and forest dwelling

[carlo godel <regiaero@gj.net>]

Matthew,
I see the point of the mobile feet. would not this also be an advantage to
walking on uneven ground such as when traversing areas with great amounts of
roots clogging the path eg. coniferous forest? The thought also arrises that the
flexibility might help in squatting down to get a meal in the tops of trees. The
elephants and rhinos do not graze in coniferous forests and niether did the
giant ground sloths, we all may be looking at things the wrong way, after all
the dinosaurs were some of the most fantastic creatures ever to evolve far more
fantastic than we can imagine.
Thank You         Carlo

Matthew Bonnan wrote:

> Carlo:
>
> My post was quick and generalized.  By up and down I meant dorsiflexion
> (raising the foot up) and plantarflexion (directing the foot down) at the
> metatarsoastragalar joint, combined with more mobility in the toes
> themselves.  The point is, for graviportal animals, sauropods have unusually
> mobile feet, something you don't see in elephants or giant ground sloths.
>
> Matt Bonnan
>
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