Re: Sauroposeidon

[Philidor11@aol.com]

I was wondering how tall sauroposeidon could be at the shoulders and still be 
able to reach the ground a substantial distance away with that 40 foot neck.  
Ignoring the head and how the neck would be set into the body, I imagined the 
front of the animal and the place where its head could reach the ground as a 
right triangle with a 40 foot  hypotenuse.  Taking the shoulders as the short 
side, I tested to see what the length of the long side would have to be:
height  5 feet   ground reached at 40 feet (picture that for a moment)
height 10 feet  ground reached at 39 feet
height 15 feet  ground reached at 37 feet 
height 20 feet  ground reached at 35 feet
height 25 feet  ground reached at 31 feet
height 30 feet  ground reached at 26 feet
height 35 feet  ground reached at 19 feet
Surprising how the estimated 20 foot height sacrifices only 5 feet of reach, 
huh?

Of course, if the animal could hold its neck straight up, it would reach 
branches 60 feet in the air.  I don't suppose brachiosaurs had any sign of 
muscles which could lift the rods out of the way, then effectively fuse the 
vertebrae when the head was in the desired position?  I didn't think so.    
Someone at work asked why the neck was that long.  I explained the species 
was bred for racing, and winning by a nose is easier.