RE: Bipedal apatosaurs and stegosaurs?

[Robert J Meyerson <meyersrt@uwec.edu> (Rob Meyerson)]

Jeff Martz wrote:

>>  where it will be more stable.  This posture would place the CG so high,
>>  that it would have to constantly correct itself to keep from falling over.
>>  All this would use up a lot of energy.  
>
>     It might have solved this by bracing itself by placing its forlembs 
>against the tree.  

I have a feeling that a several ton sauropod leaning against a tree
 would play lumberjack very quickly.  "He's a lumberjack, and he's OK.
 He sleeps all night, and he works all day!"

>>  90' diplodicus reared up would have it's head at the very tops of the
>>  pines, and there isn't that much foliage available for consumption).
>
>      No one has any idea how tall trees got to be in Morrison 
>times.  The plant fossils just aren't that good.  By the way, about high 
>high was Brachiosaurus's head above the ground, even if it wasn't rearing?  

I agree that the lack of information regarding tree sizes is difficult
 to get around, but I think that regardless of how tall they got, there
 would still be a lot more foliage at ground level then at reared-Diplo
 height.

Good 'ol Brachiosaurus would certianly be up there, but it would be
 rather short of the 90' mark.  Perhaps we could get a handle of how
 tall Jurassic conifers got by the size of Brachio.  There would
 certainly be enough foliage to warrent a larger animal.

Rob Meyerson
Orphan Vertebrate Paleontologist

***
"If anything is going to go wrong, it'll happen at maximum velocity."
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