Re: Resting Sauropods

[Blue Rider <blurdr@gte.net>]

PTJN@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 7/15/98 4:29:19 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> moschops@zetnet.co.uk writes:
> 
> << My guess is they just stood there. Giraffes do this - they are able
> to
>  somehow lock their legs.  >>
> 
> This is true.  And I've seen cows sound asleep standing up.  But I've
> also
> seen footage of giraffes resting on their stomach.  To stand up, they
> raise
> themselves first onto their front legs, then onto their back legs.
> This is
> the same way many (all?) of the larger mammalian tetrapods seem to
> raise
> themselves--watch a cow, horse, rhinoceros or elephant.  And I've seen
> all of
> them--in life or in film--resting on their side as well.  There aren't
> living
> tetrapods reptilian analogs, since they are all cold-blooded
> sprawlers.


        A city boy, are you, dear?  One of the oldest known questions that
country people ask to see whether they've got another country friend or
a city slicker is "Which end of a horse gets up first?  Which end of a
cow gets up first?"  Hint; a cow get up by straightening her back legs
first; a horse the front legs first.  Just ask any farmer you can find.

        Aloha,
        Blue