New research demonstrates the huge necks of sauropods were not as flexible as previously thought.
Until now, ideas of how flexible sauropod necks were have been based
entirely on the position of neck vertebrae. Computer models built around
this idea have been used in museum installations and TV shows like
"Walking with Dinosaurs", depicting the same sauropods grazing from low
vegetation to the treetops. This new
research demonstrates a key problem with these models - they don't
consider the effects of soft tissue like muscles.
To get a
clear picture of how much soft tissue could affect flexibility, the team
looked at the closest thing to a long-necked dinosaur we have today -
ostriches. Giraffes might seem the logical choice, having a more similar
shape to sauropods than ostriches, but they have far fewer neck
vertebrae.
Using three donated ostrich necks, the team
measured neck flexibility as the necks were before removing soft tissues
and measuring again. Their results showed the neck becomes more
flexible as you remove more tissue. The more muscle and cartilage the
neck has, the less flexible it is.
"The soft tissue is what
allows the neck to flex, but it also places an absolute limit on how far
you can move the neck," Matthew Cobley (evolutionary biologist at the
University of Utah and lead author) told io9. "It seems common sense —
and it is — but it's not something that was considered in detail
before."
Understanding how flexible sauropod necks were can
tell us more about how they lived and ate. Lack of flexibility likely
restricted them to a particular niche (being unable to eat from a large
range of heights) and would have required them to spend more time
searching for food. It may also help us understand why they survived for
so long.
To read the paper: http://bit.ly/147qrHk
Image credit: SPL. Sourced from the BBC article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://io9.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
New research demonstrates the huge necks of sauropods were not as flexible as previously thought.
Until now, ideas of how flexible sauropod necks were have been based entirely on the position of neck vertebrae. Computer models built around this idea have been used in museum installations and TV shows like "Walking with Dinosaurs", depicting the same sauropods grazing from low vegetation to the treetops. This new research demonstrates a key problem with these models - they don't consider the effects of soft tissue like muscles.
To get a clear picture of how much soft tissue could affect flexibility, the team looked at the closest thing to a long-necked dinosaur we have today - ostriches. Giraffes might seem the logical choice, having a more similar shape to sauropods than ostriches, but they have far fewer neck vertebrae.
Using three donated ostrich necks, the team measured neck flexibility as the necks were before removing soft tissues and measuring again. Their results showed the neck becomes more flexible as you remove more tissue. The more muscle and cartilage the neck has, the less flexible it is.
"The soft tissue is what allows the neck to flex, but it also places an absolute limit on how far you can move the neck," Matthew Cobley (evolutionary biologist at the University of Utah and lead author) told io9. "It seems common sense — and it is — but it's not something that was considered in detail before."
Understanding how flexible sauropod necks were can tell us more about how they lived and ate. Lack of flexibility likely restricted them to a particular niche (being unable to eat from a large range of heights) and would have required them to spend more time searching for food. It may also help us understand why they survived for so long.
To read the paper: http://bit.ly/147qrHk
Image credit: SPL. Sourced from the BBC article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://io9.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Until now, ideas of how flexible sauropod necks were have been based entirely on the position of neck vertebrae. Computer models built around this idea have been used in museum installations and TV shows like "Walking with Dinosaurs", depicting the same sauropods grazing from low vegetation to the treetops. This new research demonstrates a key problem with these models - they don't consider the effects of soft tissue like muscles.
To get a clear picture of how much soft tissue could affect flexibility, the team looked at the closest thing to a long-necked dinosaur we have today - ostriches. Giraffes might seem the logical choice, having a more similar shape to sauropods than ostriches, but they have far fewer neck vertebrae.
Using three donated ostrich necks, the team measured neck flexibility as the necks were before removing soft tissues and measuring again. Their results showed the neck becomes more flexible as you remove more tissue. The more muscle and cartilage the neck has, the less flexible it is.
"The soft tissue is what allows the neck to flex, but it also places an absolute limit on how far you can move the neck," Matthew Cobley (evolutionary biologist at the University of Utah and lead author) told io9. "It seems common sense — and it is — but it's not something that was considered in detail before."
Understanding how flexible sauropod necks were can tell us more about how they lived and ate. Lack of flexibility likely restricted them to a particular niche (being unable to eat from a large range of heights) and would have required them to spend more time searching for food. It may also help us understand why they survived for so long.
To read the paper: http://bit.ly/147qrHk
Image credit: SPL. Sourced from the BBC article.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
http://io9.com/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
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