S A U R O P O D
Long neck dinosaurs. They thrived on the Earth for
130 million years. To have a genetic lineage survive
this long requires numerous course corrections in order
to meet the planet's changing reality.
Land masses and bodies of water move about
the Earth's crust. Ancient mountains erode
while new ranges erupt. Wind streams are diverted
by new obstructions. Deserts blossom with new rain
while tropical swamps evaporate in drought.
Context rules the organism. A species conforms
to its changing challenges or it is lost.
A L A M O S A U R U S
The long neck serves to save energy.
The animal can feed off leaves in a tree's canopy
or consume plant fiber from the surrounding
low lying brush. Food is everywhere in reach
without this sauropod having to move its 70 tons.
The Alamosaurus doesn't chew its food.
Everything is swallowed whole and passed
along to a cavernous gut where all phases
of digestion occur. No chewing means the head
doesn't need a big jaw with massive muscles
for chewing. Small pegs are all the teeth
needed to strip leaves from a branch.
Nature does not suspend big heads on the
end of a thirty foot neck.
T R I C E R A T O P S
Triceratops, along with Stegosaurus, represent
a second branch of Jurassic dinosaurs. This
family of species were notable for its use of
bony armor for defense. The Stegosaurus
is known for having large, bony plates along
its back and three spikes at the end of its tail.
Triceratops had a ten foot armored head
with three fierce horns for protection.
T. rex was its most lethal adversary.
But Triceratops was no slouch.
At 8 tons and 30 feet in length, it was
equal in size to an African elephant.
Getting gored was a very real possibility
for even T. rex, the apex of predators.
S P I N O S A U R U S
Built like a dragon with a crocodile skull and conical
teeth to grip slippery fish. It made its living prowling the
ancient rivers of North Africa. Like the hippo and
modern whale, the Spinosaurus bone's were dense,
providing the animal with ballast - weight needed
to prevent bobbing and roll-over actions that counter
the individual's navigational control.
T H E R O P O D
This third branch of dinosaur development
provided the basis for both T. rex, terror of the
ages, as well as the lineage leading to modern
birds. The animals are all bipedal - they run on
their two hind legs. The front limbs are used for
grasping. Note the claws.
The skeleton above illustrates characteristics
basic to both types of animals - bird and terrestrial
predator. The leg is built for speed, with the bones
of its foot fused to extend the leg, much like that
of a cheetah's. The earliest birds used their powerful
legs to launch themselves into flight.
A R C H A E O P T E R Y X
Around 150 million years ago, late in the Jurassic
period, the first birds appeared in the fossil record.
They were reptiles covered in feathers. Other
reptiles also had feathers, but not ones fastened
to wings and designed for flight. Here was a
crow-sized reptile that could fly.
Archaeopteryx was the point when non-avian
dinosaur transitioned into a bird. It wasn't yet
complete. This bird had a jaw with teeth.
It retained a lizard-like tail. There was no large,
keeled breastbone to anchor robust flight muscles.
This primitive bird was underpowered.
Flight control could be a bit clumsy.
We're talking Kitty Hawk.
It's a beginning.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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