Sauropod dinosaurs, like Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, hold the record for the largest land animals, weighing up to 80 tons, and stretching more than 60 meters from head to tail.
To support their size, these herbivorous dinosaurs must have spent most of their time eating and searching for food.
They had a mouthful of incisors, good for clipping off plants, but not designed for chewing. They had no molars for pulverizing their food, so they must have swallowed their food whole.
The giant bulk of these dinosaurs is more puzzling when considering their relatively tiny heads, but their small heads were supported by long necks, which may have been critical to the sauropod’s success.
Their long necks allowed these dinosaurs to stand in one place and browse vegetation from a large radius, allowing them to collect a lot of food without expending much energy.
Based on research by P. Martin Sander and Marcus Clauss, 2008. Sauropod Gigantism. Science 322: 20-201
Illustration from http://www.scorcher.ru/journal/art/art_pic/diplodocus_2.jpg
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