Re: PARTICULAR sauropods aquatic?

[Stanley Friesen <sarima@ix.netcom.com>]

At 01:26 PM 9/2/99 -0400, Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:
>There is at least one sauropod trackway (found by Bird? can't recall right 
>now) that includes only forefoot impressions and could only be produced by a 
>sauropod walking in fairly deep water with its hindquarters floating off the 
>substrate.

According to Lockley there is another possible explanation, the prints in
question are underprints, and the forefeet penetrated more deeply into the
mud than the hind feet (perhaps due to having a smaller area).
>
>Anyway, the low density of sauropods would have worked to keep the lungs 
>quite close to the surface when they were swimming, so that having to inhale 
>against the pressure of several meters of water would not have been a 
>problem: They simply couldn't submerge that deep. (Unless you can imagine a 
>giant hand pushing them underwater from above...)

Though, this does not mean that sauropods could not *swim*.  Indeed, as
most tetrapods can do so, it seems likely that they could also.

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May the peace of God be with you.         sarima@ix.netcom.com