Plesiosaur biomechanical study

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

Why the Loch Ness Monster is no plesiosaur
02 November 2006
From New Scientist Print Edition 

--

...The plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived 160 million years ago, looked 
like nothing alive today, with a neck that was some 2 metres long, the 
length of the body and tail combined. Why it needed such a long neck has 
been a mystery, but now Leslie Noà of the Sedgwick Museum in Cambridge, UK, 
has an answer. 

Plesiosaurs used their long necks to reach down and feed on soft-bodied 
animals living on the sea floor, Noà told the Society of Vertebrate 
Paleontology meeting in Ottawa, Canada, last month. He examined fossils of a 
plesiosaur called *Muraenosaurus*, and by calculating the articulation of 
the neck bones he concluded the neck was flexible and could move most easily 
when pointing down.... 

More at:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225764.900-why-the-loch-ness-monster 
-is-no-plesiosaur.html 


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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist         http://heretichides.soffiles.com
Melbourne, Australia        http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs
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