Dinosaurs with a long neck: varieties, description, habitat

It is difficult to learn 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, lived dinosaurs with a long neck? What were they called, what kind of life they led?

"Longest animal"

In the old children's song it is 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 heroes today are dinosaurs with a long neck, who lived in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This group of animals was called "sauropods", in Latin it means "lizard-footed dinosaurs".

Despite the fact that the sauropods were completely extinct, the scientists managed 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

Herbivorous dinosaur with a long neck was a giant size. The neck of the animal could be from 9 to 11 m long, but the head is quite small. In a tiny cranium was a tiny brain. It was found that the animal's sacral brain was 20 times larger than the head. The teeth of these dinosaurs were spatula-shaped, rather small in size. Despite the name, the legs of the animals did not resemble those of the lizards. Rather, there was a resemblance to the legs of elephants. Forequarters have always been longer than the hind legs. All of them had massive tails.

As you know, dinosaurs with a long neck do not live in a nearby zoo. All the data on these animals have been painstakingly restored by paleontologists on the found remains. The most rare discovery for scientists is the skull of sauropod. This part of the skeleton is rarely found in excavations, and even the whole does not come across at all.

Lifestyle

Dinosaurs with a long neck can be considered phytophages. This means that they were fed on plant food. Paleontologists suggested that they did not chew on the plants, but grind them with swallowed stones.

The easiest way to assume that sauropods used the neck to reach the high crowns of trees. But this theory causes criticism from scientists, because they calculated how the arterial pressure of the animal should be, so that it is possible to perform such actions. Calculations show that this would require an unnecessarily high energy expenditure. In addition, the animal should have a very large heart.

Another hypothesis is that sauropods led a herd life. It is based on the fact that paleontologists often find a group of remains.

It is believed that the long-necked dinosaurs were very slow. Presumably they moved at a speed of no more than 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. The name this family received from the American paleontologist C. Marsh in 1878. Actually the name reflected the features of the structure of the animal's tail.

Diplodok was long considered a true giant even among dinosaurs. According to calculations of one of the scientists, its dimensions could exceed 54 m, and the weight could reach 113 tons. But he was mistaken in the number of vertebrae, and the real dimensions were much smaller. The largest remains confirmed the length of 35 m. The weight of the exact calculation has not yet yielded, presumably it is from 20 to 80 tons.

The remains of Diplodocus were found quite often, due to what this species is considered the most studied. In the London Museum of Natural History there is a copy of the skeleton of the diplomat. So photo dinosaurs with a long neck can be done exactly there.

Brachiosaurus

At the end of the Jurassic period, there lived another sauropod, called a brachiosaurus. This can be translated as a "broad-shouldered lizard". This animal dwelt in the territories where North America and Africa are located today.

The brachiosaurus, like all sauropods, had a small head. But it was decorated with a bone ridge just above the eyes. Presumably on the ridge, nostrils, connected by an air bag, were mixed. Maybe even the lizard had a small trunk. The front legs were much longer than the rear ones, but in general the look was very much like a huge giraffe. Only the neck was not pulled up, but moved forward about 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 is 22-27 m. Weight - in the range of 22-60 tons.

The skeleton of this dinosaur is exhibited in Berlin, at the Humboldt Museum.