SauropodsAlex Shmatovich

Background

• Sauropod translates to “Lizard-Footed”• An order of dinosaur• Best known for being the largest animals to

walk the Earth• Four legged• Herbivores

Sauropods, (2010)

Evolution

• Prosauropods (“before Sauropods”) the precursors to Sauropods

• Smaller than full blown Sauropods• Facultative bipeds (could stand erect on two

feet)• Sauropods first appeared 200 million years

ago (early Jurassic)

Strauss, (2008)

Evolution cont.

• Were at their peak towards the end of the Jurassic– Lots of plant life for food– Most diversity of species

• Began to become less dominant in the Cretaceous

• Remaining species such as Titanosaurus had evolved armor plating for protection

• Went extinct 65 million years agoStrauss, (2008)

Appearance

• Very long necks with long tails for balance– Commonly used for access to high branches– Neck vertebrae could be up to 4 times the length

of back vertebrae• Legs as thick as tree trunks– 4 toes and one thumb claw– Slow walkers

• High nostrils right beneath their eyes

Sauropods, (2010)

Appearance cont.

• Lengths ranging from 10 feet to over 100 feet• Heights up to 60 feet• The largest land dwelling animal ever• Some specimens had dermal armor covering

their neck and back

Sauropods, (2010)

Diet

• Ate mainly conifers– Dominant plant in Sauropod environment– Some also ate flowering plants

• Used large flat or peg-like teeth to chew food• Would consume hundreds of pounds of food

each day

Smith, (1997)

Behavior

• Found on every continent (including Antarctica)

• Traveled in herds• Cared extensively for their young• Almost immune to predation due to size and

strength• Could use their tails as whips to punish any

animal that got too closeStrauss, (2008)

Classification

• Reptile• Saurischian (Lizard-Hipped)• One of the two major families in Saurischia– The other being Theropods– Sauropods classified further by type of teeth– Classified by length of distal limb bones

• Many different species within Sauropoda

Wilson, (2002)

Resources• Sauropods. (2010). In EnchantedLearning.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/Sauropod.shtml

• Smith, D. (1995). The Sauropod Dinosaurs. UC Berkeley. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/sauropoda.html

• Smith, D. (1997). Sauropod Diet. UC Berkeley. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/sauropoddiet.html

• Strauss, B. (2008). Sauropods – The Biggest Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs. http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/typesofdinosaurs/a/sauropods.htm

• Wilson. (2002). Sauropod Phylogeny. University of Michigan. http://www-personal.umich.edu/~wilsonja/JAW/Sauropod_Phylogeny.html

* All photos sourced from Google Images, search “sauropod”.