Sink or swim simulation for sauropods

What happens when you put a sauropod in water?

A US palaeontologist has used computer simulations to investigate how the extinct animals would have fared when immersed in a lake or river.

He found the multi-tonne behemoths became buoyant, supporting the idea that unusual fossil trackways were made by sauropods floating in water. . .

Dr Donald Henderson of the University of Calgary in Canada has developed a computer simulation to investigate what would happen if a sauropod was submerged in water deep enough for it to either sink or float.

"We were originally using the computer model for crocodiles, to see what they do. I decided to put the sauropod in as a laugh and was surprised to see that it did float," said Dr Henderson. . .

Palaeontologists have found numerous "manus-only" fossil trackways, which may have been made by sauropods propelling themselves along the bottom of a lake or river with their front feet only.

Dr Henderson said it was possible that Brachiosaurus could have used its long front legs to "punt" along the bottom of a lake or river.

Whether these dinosaurs would have been stable if fully afloat is another question; it is quite possible they would have tended to roll onto their sides. From the BBC.

Posted by David on December 11, 2003 7:51 PM