A Brontosaurus. |
His feet were broad and had large pads on them, somewhat like those of elephants today. He had five toes on each foot. There was a large claw on the inner toe of each front foot and on the inner toe of each hind foot.
His head, far out on the end of his very long neck, seems tiny for such a large animal. Inside this small head was an even smaller brain, about the size of a baseball. He was not a thinking animal. His large size was a defense against some of the meat-eating dinosaurs, such as Allosaurus.
Brontosaurus spent much of his time in the water, probably to escape from attacks by the meat-eating dinosaurs that lived on land. He may have found it easier to support his tremendous weight when half-floating around in swamps and lakes than when walking on the land.
Remarkable dinosaur footprints have been found in Texas. Some of the footprints of the hind feet are 38 inches long and 26 inches wide. By studying a series of footprints, paleontologists actually know how these dinosaurs waded into the water. Brontosaurus first stood at the edge of the bank and floated his front legs, then gradually he eased his whole body into the water, and then, with a great shove from his hind legs, he floated off. As he gave the final push he left only the impression of the claws of his hind feet.
Charles R. Knight. |
His long neck must have been very useful as he browsed among the water-plants of the swamps and lakes. He was also able to reach out and nibble at leaves of bushes growing along the bank. He used his clawed feet to grub up plants and to help balance his thirty-ton body as he walked in the soft mud of the swamps. His legs and tail were not adapted for swimming as were those of the duck-billed dinosaurs. He probably was a wader rather than a swimmer. He may have spent long hours sunning himself on the banks of lakes.
Our illustrations, except those for stories one and three, are photographs of murals by Charles R. Knight. Chicago Natural History Museum has a large collection of these famous restorations of prehistoric animals. An authority on dinosaurs has said that the Knight murals are worthy of constant repetition, for no better impressions of some of the former denizens of our land have ever been created...
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