RE:sauropod feeding*

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Tue, 2 Apr 1996, Jeffrey Martz wrote:

> >[In response to the hypothesis that geese originally developed their 
> >long necks for feeding at the bottoms of ponds]

>      Is there any fossil evidence to back this up?  Do any long necked 
> waterfowl today feed off the bottoms of ponds?  

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this exactly what swans do?

> > What kind of ground cover was around in the Mesozoic?  Most dinosaur 
> > drawings I've seen show a lot of bare earth.  Seems unlikely to me.
> 
>      As far as I know, there is no known Mesozoic equivalent for 
> grasses.  Undergrowth yeah, but no uniform ground cover like grasses are 
> today.  Would this have prevented problems for other plants via heavy 
> erosion?  Probably a dumb question.

Not a dumb question at all, and part of the reason for my original 
question.  It does seem like a lack of ground cover would leave the 
topsoil vulnerable to erosion, particularly if there were periods of 
heavy rain like in today's trpics.  It would also be a major unexploited 
niche for the plants.

> LN Jeff

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8206
PharriNJ@PLU.edu