Re: Sauropod Necks As Weapons

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Richard W Travsky wrote:
> 
> Just came back from San Diego where we managed to take in the Wild Animal
> Park. Our kiddie oriented tour guy did come up with one interesting
> tidbit, tho. He said a giraffe could knock over a cape buffalo by swinging
> its neck and hitting the buffalo with it.
> 
> As a dino fan, of course, the first thing I thought of was a sauropod
> using its neck like that in defense.
> 

Maybe this explains all those headless sauropod skeletons. Trying to
head-butt a theropod?

Seriously though, I read somewhere that sauropod heads weren't connected
very firmly to the neck, hence why a lot of them end up missing after
death. A giraffe's head is reinforced and has horns (isn't it related to
cervids in some way?) Sauropod heads seem to be fairly gracile
constructions. 

Of course giraffes don't have a large heavy tail, and perhaps if they
did, they wouldn't use their heads for defence quite so much.
Personally, I'd rather defend myself with a body part as far away from
my brain as possible. Hence why I never sit on anything in an agressive
manner (ah, self deprecating humour!)

-- 
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Dann Pigdon                   Australian Dinosaurs:
GIS / Archaeologist         http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj/
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