It is difficult to study something that has not existed for a long time, but this does not mean that it is not interesting! For example, what do you know about dinosaurs? When, in your opinion, did dinosaurs with a long neck live? What were they called, what was their lifestyle?
"Long-necked animal"
The old children's song is about a giraffe, but today you will get acquainted with the life of a much more ancient representative of the animal world. Let's talk about a group of four-legged herbivorous dinosaurs. More precisely, our today's heroes are dinosaurs with a long neck that lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This group of animals was called "sauropods", translated from Latin it means "lizard-footed dinosaurs."
Despite the fact that sauropods are completely extinct, scientists were able to determine that these animals lived everywhere, there were at least 130 species that were divided into 13 families and 70 genera.
General description of the species
The herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck was gigantic in size. The neck of the animal could be from 9 to 11 m long, but the head was very small. A tiny brain was placed in a tiny cranium. It was found that the sacral brain of the animal was 20 times larger than the brain. The teeth of these dinosaurs were putty-shaped, rather small in size. Despite the name, the legs of the animals did not resemble the legs of lizards. Rather, it was similar to the legs of elephants. The forelimbs were always longer than the hind limbs. All of them had massive tails.
As you understand, dinosaurs with a long neck do not live in a neighboring zoo. All data on these animals were painstakingly retrieved by paleontologists from the remains found. The rarest find for scientists is the sauropod skull. This part of the skeleton rarely comes across during excavations, and even as a whole it does not come across at all.
Lifestyle
Dinosaurs with a long neck can be considered phytophages. This means that they ate plant foods. Paleontologists have suggested that they did not chew plants, but grind them with swallowed stones.
It is easiest to assume that sauropods used their necks to reach the high crowns of trees. But this theory is criticized by scientists, because they calculated what the blood pressure of the animal should have been in order to be able to perform such actions. Calculations show that this would require unreasonably high energy consumption. In addition, the animal had to have a very big heart.
Another hypothesis is that sauropods led a herd lifestyle. It is based on the fact that paleontologists most often find a group of remains.
It is believed that the long-necked dinosaurs were very slow. Presumably they traveled at a speed not exceeding 5 km / h. This is associated with the weight and size of the animal.
Description of individual species. Diplodocus
Diplodocus is the most famous dinosaur with a long neck. This genus got its name from the American paleontologist C. Marsh back in 1878. The name itself reflected the structural features of the tail of the animal.
Diplodocus has long been considered a real giant, even among dinosaurs. According to the calculations of one of the scientists, its dimensions could exceed 54 m, and weight could reach 113 tons. But he made a mistake in the number of vertebrae, and the real sizes were much smaller. The largest remains confirmed a length of 35 m. Weight has not yet been accurately calculated, presumably from 20 to 80 tons.
The remains of the diplodocus were found quite often, due to which this species is considered the most studied. The London Museum of Natural History has a copy of the diplodocus skeleton. So a photo of dinosaurs with a long neck can be made there.
Brachiosaurus
At the end of the Jurassic there lived another sauropod, called the brachiosaurus. This can be translated as "broad-shouldered lizard." This animal inhabited the territories where North America and Africa are located today.
The brachiosaurus, like all sauropods, had a small head. But she was decorated with a bone crest just above her eyes. Presumably, nostrils connected by an air sac were placed on the crest. Maybe even the pangolin had a small trunk. The front legs were much longer than the hind legs, and in general the view was very similar to a huge giraffe. Only the neck did not extend upward, but moved forward approximately 45 °.
The growth of this animal is not exactly established. Presumably - 11-15 m. And the length from the head to the tip of the tail - 22-27 m. Weight - within 22-60 tons.
The skeleton of this dinosaur is exhibited in Berlin at the Humboldt Museum.