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Post by [][][]cordylus[][][] on Jan 24, 2009 15:38:41 GMT
^^^ Or maybe something super strange and totally unheard of in the modern world... Maybe large colonies of fungus on it's skin that were beneficial to mamenchi by deterring predators?.... Nobody could really disprove that... but it is kind of unlikely...
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Post by tetonbabydoll on Jan 24, 2009 15:46:48 GMT
MM. I suppose if it lived in herds, juvies on the inside, they may have been more or less unmolested. Unless one got sick.....Geese, I'm sick right now..**starts watching for predators stalking me**
Not to worry though, my pet beaver eating Carnotaurus will protect me...snicker...sorry....
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Post by stoneage on Jan 25, 2009 0:49:59 GMT
^^^ MAybe yangchuanosaurs just didn't prey on them. Although that doesn't make too much sense... Maybe mamenchisaurs had long necks to reach out over the water and eat water plants? It was though that some sauropods would reach out over water and eat soft water plants. However most scientist don't believe that anymore. Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Mamenchisaurus probably fed on low lying plants. A study by paleontologist J. Michael Parrish (published in Science, April 1999) seems to indicate that Apatosaurus and Diplodocus had very limited neck mobility. Computor models were used to see how far these animals could move. They couldn't have lived in forest or their heads would have constantly been hitting trees as they moved their necks from left to right. These plant eaters couldn't lift their heads more then 9 to 12 feet. Parrish said " The maximum amount they were able to raise their heads was just a little bit above the height of their back. If you raise the head any higher, the vertebrae run into each other and the back locks up." Apatosaurus could only have held its head at most 17 feet off the ground. Allosaurus was only 15 feet tall so it couldn't attack Apatosauruses head or neck. Different sauropods probably fed at different levels and ate different foods depending on their teeth and other adaptions. Each had his ecological niche depending on head and body type. Similar to fish where you have bottom feeders (Cat Fish, Loaches etc.), top feeders (Hatchetfish, Butterflyfish. etc.), and middle feeders. Also Apatosaurus probably didn't eat soft water plants because its remains have been found far from water-dwelling fossils and large bodies of water or swamps. An interesting note: According to paleontologist Robert Bakker, Apatosaurus may have had thick, moose -like lips that would have helped in gathering plant material. ;D
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