Re: 'Bridging' the gap on sauropods

[Ray McAllister <mcallist@gate.net>]

Rob and all, glad to be back after a horrendous summer making up for 
gross stupidity as a youth and WW II injuries- laminectomy and right knee 
replacement. 
        During my time in the shipyard I read Lost World. Did not like it 
as much as JP and suggest that it was written verey much with an eye on 
the next movie. A nunmber of events seemed to be modifications of some JP 
happenings. No need to answer. Just MHO. ciao


On Fri, 17 Nov 1995, Rob Meyerson wrote:

> =46inally, a dino-post;-)
> 
> I finally got my copy of Lost World (now I'm only a few months behind on my=
>  reading, as opposed to a few eras:-).  I noticed something about the=
>  sauropod description that I thought was odd: the claim was that these=
>  beasts never raised their necks very high, because the blood pressure would=
>  cause the neck to burst.  How then, do we explain Brachiosaurus which *had*=
>  to hold it's head straight up, due to the arrangment of the spinal collumn?
> 
> =46urther, it seemed that Crichton's (sp?) explanation on the long necks of=
>  sauropods was wierd.  He claimed that the neck was so long because it acted=
>  as a counterbalance for the tail, using the analogy of how bridge supports=
>  work.  It seems to me that this is putting the Thagomiser ahead of the=
>  Stegosaurus, wouldn't the sauropod tail make more sense as a counterbalance=
>  for the head???
> 
> Comments?
> 
> Rob
> 
> ***
> Aveichthies: The flying fish!
> 
> 


Ray McAllister, Prof (Emeritus) Ocean Eng., FAU, Boca Raton, FL 33064
Diving Dinosaur, Geologist/Oceanographer/Ocean Engineer, 43 years SCUBA
mcallist@gate.net (305) 426-0808, Author Diving Locations, Boynton/Dania