Re: Sauroposeidon (shoulder height information)

["Martin Barnett" <martin.barnett3@virgin.net>]

To all interested in the shoulder height of the new sauropod:  The URL for
"the Wire" that Betty gave us has a sketch of Sauroposeidon standing next to
a Brachiosaurus, Giraffe and human (no picts, sorry Nick :-) ).  On that
it's marked at 13' (look under "dinosaur graphic").  Do with that what you
will.

Samuel Barnett

----- Original Message -----
From: <Philidor11@aol.com>
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 1999 3:59 PM
Subject: Re: Sauroposeidon


> 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.