Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Scientists Delve into Sauropod Evolution

By R&D Editors | March 30, 2016

This is a Giraffatitan model of a Sauropod. Credit: Dr Peter L Falkingham (Liverpool John Moores University)​Titanosaurs were the last surviving group of sauropods to see the end of the dinosaur’s reign, at the end of the Cretaceous. Such a cast of a fossil specimen is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History. The cast measures 122 feet long, and paleontologists suggest the creature weighed around 70 tons.

But how did this dinosaur group end up with such formidable heft?

In a paper published today in Royal Society Open Science, a group of researchers examined the temporal and phylogenetic body sizes of various sauropods. They created 3D models to reconstruct the bodies and gauge how they evolved through time.

“As a result of devising these models we were able to ascertain that the relative size of sauropods’ neck increased gradually over time, leading to animals that were increasingly more front-heavy relative to their ancestors,” said Karl Bates, of the University of Liverpool’s Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, in a statement.

Sauropods descended from smaller dinosaurs that walked on two legs, according to University of Liverpool. Their tails were long, but they had small chests and forelimbs. Eventually, their chests grew larger, as did their forelimbs, and their neck lengthened. This resulted in Jurassic-era sauropods, such as Diplodocus and Apatosaurus.         

“What’s important to remember about studies like this is that there is a very high degree of uncertainty about exactly how these animals were put together,” said co-author Vivian Allen in a statement, who is from the Royal Veterinary College London. “While we have good skeletons for many of them, it’s difficult to be sure how much meat there was around each of the bones. We have built this uncertainty into our models, ranging each body part form emaciated to borderline obesity, and even using these extremes we still find these solid, trending changes in body proportions over sauropod evolution.”

According to the study, the shift to titanosaurs was marked by a craniad shift that was also paired with further neck enlargement. Titanosaurs included the Argentinosaurus and Dreadnoughtus. 

 

Related Articles Read More >

Breakthrough in the Discovery of DNA in Ancient Bones Buried in Water
Traces of Crawling in Italian Cave Give Clues to Ancient Humans’ Social Behavior
Freshwater Mussel Shells Were Material of Choice For Prehistoric Craftsmen
Middle Pleistocene Human Skull Reveals Variation and Continuity in Early Asian Humans
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE