Re: Gallery and Commentary for Copenhagen Mamenchisaurus

[Danvarner@aol.com]

mike@indexdata.com (Mike Taylor) writes:    

<< If you're interested in sauropod neck posture (and who isn't? :-)
you'll probably enjoy Stevens and Parrish's 1999 _Science_ paper,
freely available at
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/284/5415/798.pdf
which modeled the range of neck movement in _Diplodocus_ and
_Apatosaurus_ assuming that the zygapophysed could disarticulate by
about 50%, and reached the conclusion that both genera probably spent
most of the lives with their necks more or less horizontal. >>

       Another fascinating paper (not freely available, I'm afraid) on the 
subject is, "The ligament system in the neck of Rhea americana and its 
implication for the bifurcated neural spines of sauropod dinosaurs" by Takanobu 
Tsuihiji, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24(1), March 2004. Dr. Holtz 
mentioned 
this one a while back, but I haven't heard much discussion about it. It 
certainly makes Camarasaurus a new beast, somewhat reminiscent of one of 
Christman's 
reconstructions. DV