The elasmosaurus was an aquatic plesiosaur of formidable size which existed in the Campanian stage of the Cretacious period. There are several distinct types of elasmosaurs, but for the purpose of this paper the focus will be on elasmosaurs that are non-aristonectine – or elasmosaurs not of the group Aristonectinae which were distinguished by their larger heads and shorter-necks. In this paper, I will discuss the discovery of existing fossils, the timeframe it existed in, the locations in which it lived, and its appearance, speciation, lifespan, and lifestyle. The first known fossil of the elasmosaurus, elasmosaurus platyurus, was discovered in Kansas by the US scientist Edward Drinker Cope. He published a paper on the elasmosaurus in 1868. …show more content…
It possessed a long neck that was composed of 50 to 70 vertebrae. These vertebrae were usually longer than they were wide, which evidences that their necks were probably not flexible. Early depictions of the elasmosaurus, such as in the painting by Charles R. Knight, showed it as having a snake-like neck that coiled easily and catch prey from any forward direction. In the abstract of the paper Elasmosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) neck flexibility: implications for feeding strategies by Zammit M., models were created in two dimensions from the elasmosaur Aphrosaurus furlongi to measure neck movements in horizontal and vertical planes. The data was then compared to similar creatures such as the snake, turtle, and seal. According to the paper, “…the elasmosaurian neck was capable of a 75-177 degrees ventral, 87-155 degrees dorsal, and 94-176 degrees lateral range of movement depending upon the thickness of cartilage reconstructed between each vertebra. Neck postures such as a 'swan-like' S-shape are shown to be implausible because they require >360 degrees vertical flexion. However, maintenance of a straight neck while swimming, together with considerable lateral and/or ventral movement during prey capture and feeding are feasible.” This evidence suggests that their range of motion was limited. Contrary to popular belief, they could not lift anything but their heads above the water. Doing so would require them to press against …show more content…
It has been proposed that elasmosaurs had several different kinds of paddling motion which helped it move in a variety of conditions. Among these are rowing, sub-aqueous flying, and modified form of flying. Rowing, which employed flat-sided backstrokes and thin-sided recovery strokes to give itself momentum, has been deemed unlikely by scientists since its flippers were not designed for horizontal movement or paddling. Sub-aqueous flying, which involved moving the flippers up and down to create constant thrust, has also been deemed unlikely since its limbs were not designed to move far upwards. Finally modified form of flying, which used both rowing and sub-aqueous flying together by providing thrust on the downstroke and cutting water with the recovery stroke, has been deemed the most likely of the three proposed methods. In addition, the most likely method of utilization involved alternation between the fore and hind
Around the mouth of the octopus are eight arms. The eight arms allow the octopus to move, crawl, and swim around in its habitat. Octopuses crawl slowly, walking on its arms to move through the water headfirst with the arms trailing behind. When necessary, octopuses can move fast using their arms to propel it through the water similar to jet propulsion. The suckers found
The Stegosaurus is said to be twenty-six to thirty feet long and about nine feet tall! the stegosaurs weighed six thousand-eight hundred pounds, can you believe that? but it had a very small brain, about the size of a nut. they are herbivores, meaning they only eat low plants and crops. they have seventeen bone plates that grew out of its back! some think that their plates helped them look bigger maybe to scare off the meat eaters or maybe just to show off. they also have spikes on their tail, the stegosaurus tail is four feet long as their tail is also very flexible and they can use to protect themselves from large predators or scare those carnivores. Its name also means covered lizard, they could not walk very fast and some paleontologists believe that if that if they had blood veales running through their plates that its plates could change color, pretty interesting right?
The Tyrannosaurus, also known as the T-Rex, are some of the biggest carnivores that roamed this planet. A large one would weigh about 6,000 Kilograms. A large T-Rex was 12.3 meters long. It could crush bone with a single bite. It ate the big 3 witch are the Hadrosaurs, Ceratopsians, and Ankylosaurus. In the stereoscopic arc(witch is where both eyes meet) the T-Rex could see 3-D. It’s name means tyrant lizard. The T-Rex was tall but not the tallest carnivorous dinosaur.
Ambulocetus – Similar to the whale the Ambulocetus was a large animal about 11 feet long. It struggled to walk on land due to its legs being too weak to support its very heavy body, weighing in at about 400 pounds. In the body of the Ambulocetus its legs had yet to evolve into flippers like modern whales therefore, the whale was able to exit a body of water and walk on land. It is likely that this early ancestor had to pull itself forward rather than walking like its previous ancestor the Pakicetus.
Many people feel uneasy when they see the Australian Horned Lizard, due to the mean appearance of it. This has been the basis for stories about it in various cultures. Fifteen subspecies of this lizard have been identified. The Horned lizard features horns that have been found in a row around the crown of the lizard’s head. They feature a body that is very flat and resembles that of large toads, and a very short but wide tail.
While the Mimus Polyglottos lives on land and the Orcinus Orca lives in the sea, the respiratory system of these two species is worth perceiving the way they have evolved from there past ancestors and the similarities these two bring together. As time goes by, these two species have changed from very modest animals to more progressive animals. There respiratory systems have advanced depending on their environment. By proceeding into the way these two species have evolved we can create a more unfathomable and complex understanding of the respiratory system between the two.
The author argues that the Pterosaurs were cold-blooded animals and they couldn't produce enough energy for flying by flapping. Conversely, the lecturer brings up the idea that the Pterosaur's body was covered by hair and this feature could efficiently isolate the heat in their body. This feature is common between warm-blood animals for saving energy. Therefore, these animals could have fast enough metabolic activity and efficient saving energy feature to produce and save energy for flight.
The discovery of this tyrannosaur has helped us discover many things about this carnivorous animal. We know that the Albertosaurus may have been a pack animal because of the discovery of 26 skeletons in one area. Phillip Currie said, “It is doubtful that a single tyrannosaur
On the other hand, the lecturer challenges this issue by highlighting that the seafloor animals were not able to move quickly, while Agnostids was. She mentions that the seafloor animals are found in a small geographic are, and could not move from one place to the other place as quickly as the Agnostids could.
Some evolutionists claim whale ancestors were originally land mammals. Though many people refute this claim, there is much evidence. First is the Indohysus. The Indohysus was discovered to share a thickened bone that helps with hearing underwater with modern whales. The Indohysus also had denser bones, which meant it was partially aquatic. Next is the Pakicetus; the Pakicetus also had very dense bones, indicating it was semi-aquatic. The Pakicetus was similar in structure to a wolf, but the skull had eye sockets that were adapted for looking upwards, most likely at objects or animals floating above it. The Ambulocetus was found to have reduced limbs and an elongated skull and reduced limbs; it most likely spent most of its time in the water.
terrestrial mammals, bends and the mechanisms used by diving marine mammals to avoid them and how these animals work to deal with the issues of depth and deep
In the beginning of the chapter on Christ Above Culture, Niebuhr confronts the common idea that things, people, or movements can be divided into two polar groups. His perception is that within Christianity, there is a tendency to divide people by “once-born” and “twice-born”, in-group and out-group, and self and others, to name a few. Rather than being black and white, most people would fall into the gray area. Niebuhr says that when attempting to categorize people as either of the first two categories discussed, “most of them will seem to be compromising creatures who somehow manage to mix ... an exclusive devotion to a Christ who rejects culture, with devotion to a culture that includes Christ” (p. 116-117). Niebuhr refers to the people
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton demonstrated many dinosaur characteristics and behaviors. The dinosaurs were fictionally characterized to appeal to the readers. By examining the dinosaur’s appearance and behaviors of dinosaurs such as the duckbilled dinosaur, velociraptor, hypsilophodontids, dilophosaurs, Triceratops, apatosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurs, and maiasaurs distinguished whether the evidence existed in the field of paleontology. The behaviors and characteristics of the dinosaur are divided into three factors as behaviors that were supported, not supported, and no evidence to support or refute the behavior.
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
During the middle to late Eocene and into the Oligocene epoch several other members of the equids, with distinct evolutionary changes, existed including the Orohippus, Epihippus, Mesohippus, and Miohippus. The Orohippus developed from the Hyracotherium and shared many of the same traits. One major change was that the first and second toes disappeared. Another significant change occurred in the teeth. The last premolar changed to become like a grinding molar. Also the crests were more defined showing that the Orohippus’s diet had changed to a tougher plant material. During the middle Eocene a descendant of Orohippus appeared. The Epihippus still resembled a dog-like animal. It had four padded toes on the front leg, and three on the back leg. However, the teeth changed more drastically with two of the premolars changing to grinding molars. Now there were five grinding cheek teeth with low crowns. As