GRAZED & confused!. . .Dinosaur that grazed like a cow. . .

[NewtonMP2100]

. . .I find this utterly fascinating. . .


A Dinosaur That Grazed Like a Cow

. . .The researchers report today that the dinosaur, named Nigersaurus taqueti, had an unusually short neck, delicate bones and a habitual head posture pointed directly toward the ground. Unlike the more common long-necked species, this was a ground-level browser like modern cows. . .

[bazookaman]

Nigersaurus?

Did it also like to run email scams?

[rgG]

I wouldn't want to step in one of those "patties".

[AAA]

My son was given the opportunity to meet Sereno during the opening of one of his exhibits, based on my son's strong knowledge of dinos at a young age.

[ka jowct]

The fact that it apparently couldn't look up seems bizarre and improbable, and not cow-like. You'd think that would be a serious liability, unless the main predators were the 40-foot crocs.

"The dinosaur's relatively small skull, excavated in 1997, proved to be especially revealing. CT scans, analyzed by Lawrence M. Witmer of Ohio University, showed details of the braincase and inner ear, from which the scientists inferred the animal's head posture. Neck bones also indicated that it could not look up. Its muzzle was angled to the ground, unlike the forward-pointing snouts of most other dinosaurs."