Re: Supersaurus (mass and length)

["Scott Hartman" <scott_hartman@hotmail.com>]

Just an update one the science of Supersaurus:

    The newspaper got carried away.  Our best length estimate right now is 
29m, and the margin of error is probably less than a meter in either 
direction.  The mass estimate of 30 tonnes was our best at the time, 
however, after comparison of our appendicular skeletal elements with BYU's 
more complete pelvis,(their specimen is almost exactly the same size) it 
appears that Supersaurus is a little short-legged for it's size.  As a 
result, our mass estimates based on scaling as compared to more complete 
sauropods was probably low, and the actual mass is probably closer to 40 
tonnes.

    -BTW by combining the BYU and Tate specimens, it is possible to make a 
skeletal reconstruction that has a decent amount of reality in it, which 
we'll be making available shortly after SVP (and at SVP, for those of you 
who'll be in Mexico).

Scott
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