DIPLODOCUS: Endearment

by Arthur Weasley (Wikipedia)

Through the efforts of the famed industrialist Andrew Carnegie (U.S.), Diplodocus became world famous. Carnegie had generously sent out a large number of skeletal casts of Diplodocus to museums around the world. After She was discovered in 1877 in the United States, naturalists, at that time, thought that Diplodocus was the largest of the Dinosaurs. (Argentinosaurus, at twice the size of Diplodocus, is now regarded to be the largest.) Because of her near-complete skeleton in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, She was named Diplodocus carnegii in 1901.

            When Diplodocus was first examined by Othniel C. Marsh (noted paleontologist), he saw that She had extra bones underneath her spine. Therefore Marsh called Her “Diplodocus” (double beam) for the chevron-shaped bones which supported her neck and tail. These special bones are common in the skeletons of other Sauropods.

            Because of her extra-long neck and tail, Diplodocus was one of the longest of the Dinosaurs. Her tail, which was about half of her length, counterbalanced her considerable elongated neck. (Seismosaurus, a larger Dinosaur, is actually an abnormally long species of  Diplodocus.)

            When scientists first studied Diplodocus, they thought that She lived in the water. Her nostrils, which they believed were located on the top of her head, acted as a snorkel. For many years, illustrations showed Diplodocus standing in a swamp or lake. However, in the 1950’s and 60’s, two paleontologists proved otherwise. Dr. K.A. Kermack (U.K.) demonstrated that the water pressure would have killed Her if She did snorkel underwater. Then a few years later, Dr. Robert Bakker (U.S.) established that Diplodocus lived on land instead of water.

            Later the paleontologists reasoned that Diplodocus used her long neck to reach high up into the trees to eat leaves. Though her neck did contain fifteen vertebrae, She did not have the flexibility needed to lift her neck high.  When Diplodocus wanted to eat, She would grip a branch with her teeth and strip the leaves off. Also, sometimes She would poke her head into the forest fringes or push a tree over with her massive body to eat the leaves.

            Because of her early world-wide fame, Diplodocus became endeared by people. The museum workers who cleaned Diplodocus’ skeleton often called Her “Dippy.” Roaming about the countryside during the Jurassic, this long Dinosaur, with small spines running down her back, often pushed trees over using her elephant-like feet. That such a massive animal could endear Herself to people is a remarkable feat. We should ponder how She did that. Could it be that She was simply Herself, and people loved Her for it?

APATOSAURUS: The Nexus of Reality and Imagination

an older depiction, without the spinal fringe

When Apatosaurus was first introduced to the public, She immediately captured everyone’s imagination. Once called “Brontosaurus,” Apatosaurus became a familiar Dinosaur to many people, starting with the early animated film, “Gertie the Dinosaur” (1914) which starred an Apatosaurus. From then on, this Dinosaur became a favorite of people. She is now a child’s toy and the logo of the Sinclair Oil Company.

            Apatosaurus changed people’s notions of how Dinosaurs moved. Before her discovery, early paleontologists believed that Dinosaurs walked like modern Lizards. They supposedly spread their legs from side to side, and walked with their bellies close to the ground. Robust Apatosaurus demonstrated that Dinosaurs stood upright on flat-soled feet and walked like Elephants.

            Although Apatosaurus cleared up one Dinosaur mystery, She caused more confusion in other areas of paleontology. When She was first discovered, her fossils were mixed-up with a Mosasaurus, an aquatic Reptile. This created an odd looking Dinosaur. After that was sorted out, paleontologists were still unsure about what She looked like. Skulls of Sauropods, the Family that Apatosaurus belonged to, were lightweight and therefore rarely preserved. When her skeleton was found next to a Camarasaurus, who had an intact skull, scientists thought that his skull was hers. Although the two Dinosaurs were Sauropods, Camarasaurus was a Big-nosed Sauropod, whilst Apatosaurus belonged to the Whip-tailed sub-Family. Only recently did scientists recognize that the skull was not hers.

            During the “Bone Wars” (1877-95), Othniel C. Marsh competed with Edward D. Cope over who discovered and named the most Dinosaurs. In 1877, Marsh found and named Apatosaurus. Two years later, Marsh found bones of what he thought was another Sauropod. He named this new “species,” “Brontosaurus.” In 1905, the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven (US) displayed a copy of “Brontosaurus,” thereby cementing this Dinosaur in the public’s mind. However two years before, another paleontologist Elmer Rigs had proved that the two Dinosaurs were the same. But Apatosaurus continued to be referred to as “Brontosaurus.” In 1989, the U.S. Post Office issued stamps of Dinosaurs featuring “Brontosaurus,” explaining that that is what people called Apatosaurus.

            Living in the Late Jurassic in North America, Apatosaurus was a sturdy Sauropod, with a medium-sized head and neck. Using her pegged teeth, She stripped off leaves from conifers for food. Since She had no good chewing teeth, Apatosaurus swallowed small stones to ground up the leaves for digestion. Unlike early erroneous depictions of Her, Apatosaurus was actually an elegant slender Dinosaur, with spikes on her neck and tail, who held her slim tail out as She walked.

            Apatosaurus lives at the intersection of reality and imagination. The reality is a refined Sauropod who roamed the countryside searching for conifers to eat. The imagination is “Brontosaurus,” the Thunder Lizard,” a stout Dinosaur who shook the ground as He walked. The Nexus holds both, who co-exist in our lives and minds.  Each Dinosaur gives us insight into our reality and thoughts, and guides us through the multiple dimensions of our lives. Follow both into the inner and outer reaches of the Universe, and discover more.

SHUNOSAURUS: Unexpected Delights

(Drawing by Arthur Weasley)

Discovered in Sichuan Province in 1979, Shunosaurus of the Jurassic was one of the Primitive Sauropods. Chinese students had been practicing their excavation techniques how to dig out fossils when they found Him in a road side. Afterwards, scientists discovered several more complete skeletons of Shunosaurus. Since this Dinosaur lived in the Middle Jurassic (170 million years ago), paleontologists regarded this to be fortuitous. Not much was known about Sauropods during this time. Shunosaurus became one of the best- studied of the Sauropods since He filled in many of the gaps that scientists wondered about.

            Living in China with many long-necked Primitive Sauropods, Shunosaurus had to browse on the lower branches of trees, with his short but flexible neck. Since He was not one of the larger Sauropods, Shunosaurus had two things to help Him. Possessing more teeth than any other Sauropod, He had twenty-five teeth on each half of his lower jaw. This enabled Shunosaurus to munch on the tougher leaves rejected by other Sauropods. The other thing was his clubbed tail. Instead of a whip-like tail, Shunosaurus had a thick club studded with small spikes.

            Shunosaurus was an accidental discovery for paleontologists. Unexpectedly found by students, He filled-in their gaps of knowledge about the Middle Jurassic. Years after that discovery, his club tail was found. By studying Him, paleontologists theorize that other Sauropods had clubbed tails until They evolved into larger sizes.

            Shunosaurus teaches us that the world is full of unexpected surprises. We should be delighted when we encounter something completely different. Our curiosity leads us to exciting new experiences and new explorations. When we are bored, we can imagine a small Dinosaur with a clubbed tail who walloped predators willy-nilly. That alone should bring delight into our lives.

Dinos: Sauropod Family: Stateliness

Often featured as children’s toys or logos for oil companies, the Members of the Sauropod Family are iconic Dinosaurs. These quintessential Dinosaurs had long bodies, long necks, and long tails. When giant leg bones of various Sauropods were first found, people could not imagine anything so huge that lived on land. These days, people take the enormous size of these plant-eaters for granted.

            In the 1840s, people originally thought that Sauropod bones were those of Whales. Since these bones were hollow, people then thought they could be those of Pterosaurs (Flying Reptiles). Then in the 1870s, complete skeletons of various Sauropods were discovered in the United States. Diplodocus and Apatosaurus astonished people with their great size. In the following years, larger and larger Sauropods were found. Argentinosaurus of Argentina is now the largest of the known Dinosaurs (117 feet (35 meters) long).

            The Members of the Sauropod Family can be roughly divided into three groups. Appearing in the Late Triassic (205 million years ago), Primitive Sauropods established the basic body plan for the entire Family. One difference between these early Sauropods and the later Members of the Family is their super-long neck. A Primitive Sauropod, Mamenchisaurus of China had one of the longest necks of any animal. (His neck was about 82 feet (25 meters) long.)

            The later Members are split into the Whip-tailed (Diplodocoids) Sauropods and Big-nosed (Macronaria) Sauropods. Diplodocus, with her agile whip-tail, gave the name for her group. Meanwhile the Big-nosed Sauropods possessed a large nose-opening on their foreheads. However, their nostrils were further down on their faces. Brachiosaurus, the tallest of all the Dinosaurs, was a member of this group. Meanwhile, Argentinosaurus was the largest of the Titanosaurs, who were the biggest of the Macronarians.

            Sauropods demonstrate stateliness and grace. Despite their immense size, They roamed serenely across the land. Moving majestically, these excellent walkers left their foot prints everywhere. With their flexible whiptails, Diplodocoids snapped at hungry predators, without breaking their stride. Unafraid of anyone, Sauropods lived their lives undisturbed. The stately bearing of the Sauropods is something that we can emulate in our lives.