sauropod

sauropod, any member of the dinosaur subgroup Sauropoda, marked by large size, a long neck and tail, a four-legged stance, and a herbivorous diet. These reptiles were the largest of all dinosaurs and the largest land animals that ever lived.

Sauropods shared a body plan consisting of: a small head on an extremely long neck; a long, massive body housing an enormous gut; thick pillarlike legs to support the torso; and a very long, tapering, often whiplike tail. A massive hip girdle was fused to the backbone, usually by five sacral vertebrae; this arrangement provided solid support for the body and tail. The backbone itself was hollowed out at the sides, which thus reduced its weight while retaining structural strength. Sauropods were once thought to have spent their time wallowing in shallow water that would help support their ponderous bodies, but considerable evidence indicates that they were better equipped for living on solid ground. The animals’ long necks enabled them to take foliage from even the tallest trees in somewhat the same manner as do modern giraffes. Their teeth tended to be spoon-shaped or pencil-shaped, and they apparently depended on swallowed stones or bacteria in the gut to help break down the plant matter they ate.

Sauropods and theropods were saurischian dinosaurs. The sauropods evolved into several major subgroups: Cetiosauridae, Brachiosauridae (including Brachiosaurus), Camarasauridae (including Camarasaurus), Diplodocidae (including Diplodocus and Apatosaurus), and Titanosauridae. The smaller sauropods reached a length of up to 15 metres (50 feet), while larger species such as Apatosaurus routinely reached lengths of 21 metres. Brachiosaurus was one of the largest and most massive of all known dinosaurs, reaching a length of 30 metres and a weight of 80 metric tons. Dreadnoughtus, a titanosaurid, was 26 metres (about 85 feet) long, and its mass was estimated at 59 metric tons (about 65 tons); it was perhaps the largest terrestrial animal that has ever lived.

Sauropods first evolved in the Early Jurassic Epoch (201 million to 174 million years ago). They became gigantic and highly diverse in the Late Jurassic Epoch (about 164 million to 145 million years ago) and persisted into the Cretaceous Period (145 million to 66 million years ago).