Re: Triceratops, assualt, and battery

[Danvarner@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/19/99 5:11:31 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
Philidor11@aol.com writes:

<< While you're at it, my other anatomical observation is plesiosaur necks.  
 They're so much like swans' necks and the beak is so pointed that I get the 
 picture of the plesiosaur floating along at or near the surface, stabbing 
its 
 beak through the surface tension.  They wouldn't be continuous swimmers, 
just 
 short bursts when necessary, sometimes stabbing from under water.  Anything 
 known which would suppost or detract from this idea? >>

  I believe the long-necked plesiosaurs moved their necks in a mostly 
horizontal plane. I'd like to see Parrish and Stevens do a study similar to 
their one on sauropod necks on the elasmosaurs. There are two schools of 
thought currently in contention: one favoring a stiff horizontal neck and one 
a more mobile supple one. The resemblance to a beak is an artifact of looking 
at the skull in a lateral view; the head is rather blunt in dorsal view and 
contains one of the most formidable array of teeth I've ever seen.. See 
http://www.oceansofkansas.com/plesio2.html
 Dan Varner.