Re: gigantism as liability

[Jura <pristichampsus@yahoo.com>]

--- On Mon, 11/17/08, David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at> wrote:


> Arboreal habitat? For a sauropod, no matter how small,
> that's something I really can't imagine. Climbing
> with extremities and girdles like these has got to be
> impossible.
> 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Improbable would probably be the safer bet. Turtles hardly have the build for 
an arboreal, or even scansorial, animal, yet there are numerous accounts of 
small semi-aquatic and land turtles found climbing trees. 

One case that comes to mind; which I believe I first heard about on the DML way 
back when; was of a gopher tortoise that came across a chain link fence while 
walking along. Rather than dig below it, bulldoze through it, or walk around 
it, the tortoise just climbed right up and fell over the other side where it 
continued on its course. 

Sauropod bauplans certainly don't seem fit for climbing much of anything, but I 
wouldn't be surprised if some smaller ones did so on rare occasions.

Jason