Re: late night thoughts: misunderstand what?

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

Anthony Docimo writes: 

> what would happen if the tyrannosaur bit down into the tail?
> (my guess: the sauropod would bleed to death, no matter what happens with 
> the tyrannosaur)

Given how far away from the heart most sauropod tails were, I'm not sure it 
would have been a particularly 'bleedy' body part. Lots of modern animals 
can survive the loss of part (or even all) of the tail. I've seen many a 
half-tailed stray cat, and even footage of a tailless kangaroo (that could 
still hop with the best of them). All survived their catastrophic 
de-tailings. 

The neck, however, is a different story. Animals have a vested interest in 
supplying lots of blood to the brain. There's not such a demand for blood 
flow in the tail, so I'm guessing blood pressure there tends to be much 
lower than in the neck of most animals. 

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