ACADEMIA Letters

Sauropods walk; skeletons talk

Bruce Rothschild

Examination of the giant long-necked dinosaurs (sauropods) challenged that perspective. An

animal that dragged its tail on the ground should routinely leave a tail drag within fossilized
trackways, but tail drag impressions are rare. Skeletons provide additional information. Select
areas of the tail in some sauropod specimens had vertebrae fused to one another, as noted in
the National Museum of Natural History Diplodocus exhibit (Rothschild and Berman, 1991).
The fusion occurred at a specific location in the proximal caudal vertebrae, approximately two-
sevenths of the distance down the tail from the sacrum. The specific location is noteworthy,
as mechanically, it would strengthen that area of the tail as a buttress. Civil engineers tell
us that cantilevered structures require buttressing approximately two-sevenths of the distance
from their main attachment (analogous to the sacrum in sauropods). This buttressing through
fused vertebrae is present in half of Diplodocus and Apatosaurus skeletons examind, and they
could not have dragged their tails (mechanically impaired from doing so). Sauropods are now
illustrated with tails extending aloft horizontally in line with the sacrum.
Our rethinking of sauropod tails partially derives from learning how to translate the skele-
ton. These areas of fusion were once thought to be caused by tumors (Moodie, 1916). As our
knowledge improved, we realized that this was not so. Instead, the condition is identical to
a ligament calcification phenomenon in humans referred to as diffuse idiopathic skeletal hy-
perostosis or DISH (Rothschild, 2020). It is a protective phenomenon, rather than a disease,
protecting the individual from back pain. Perhaps sauropods were protected from the stress
of keeping their tails elevated.
The picturesque mounting of a Barosaurus, standing on its hind legs, has done much to
increase public enthusiasm for these ancient animals and such a speculative pose stimulated
new research. Whether the exhibitors’ speculation is correct is not as important as the under-
standing derived from the work it stimulates. Posture of the rearing Barosaurus mount would

Academia Letters, October 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Bruce Rothschild, spondylair@gmail.com

Citation: Rothschild, B. (2021). Sauropods walk; skeletons talk. Academia Letters, Article 3647.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3647.

1
place a lot of weight (perhaps 10 tons) on a lever arm, with a center of gravity significantly
removed from its fulcrum (the hip). Recall as a child, sitting on a seesaw. Maintaining a
balanced, level position was relatively simple - if your friend was similar in weight. However,
it took effort to move your friend from the ground to the raised position. If you sat in front of
the seat or if your friend weighed significantly more than you did, it took even lot more effort.
You had what is referred to as a mechanical disadvantage.
Sauropod dinosaurs perhaps represent a case of ‘the tail wagging the dog.’ The center
of balance in some sauropods is in front of the hind legs; others (e.g., camarasaurids, bra-
chiosaurids, titanosaurids), behind the front legs. The alleged tripod posture counters the
body weight with the tail in the former. Such movement requires substantial muscle strength
and puts tremendous stresses on all bony attachments. The ballet position of point in humans
seems similar to assuming tripodal posture in sauropods. Such activities in human ballet leave
their signature on the skeleton (Rothschild and Martin, 2006). The elastic modulus of the bone
is repeatedly stressed, producing partial disruptions called stress fractures. Ballet dancers get
them in their vertebrae (Kadel et al., 1992). If tripodal posture was practiced repeatedly, we
would anticipate stress fractures specifically in sauropod dorsal vertebrae. None have been
found in examination of over 1000 especimens (Rothschild and Molnar, 2005).
Returning to the seesaw analogy, recall when your heavier friend released pressure on
the seesaw (as a practical joke?). You landed with a thud! Imagine the thud when a 10 ton
sauropod returned to the ground from a tripod posture. We should expect fossil evidence in
the form of forefoot stress fractures and, again, there have been none observed (Rothschild
and Molnar, 2005). What actually are present are hind foot stress fractures.
Pedal (foot) stress fractures in humans are sometimes called march fractures. They are
classically seen in soldiers who have marched for long distances. In dinosaurs, this could
translate into migratory activity, as suggested for sauropods. However, there may be another
behavioral consideration. Sauropods have traditionally been considered, or at least illustrated,
as swamp dwellers. Does the presence of pedal stress fractures additionally falsify that hypoth-
esis? Current consensus is that such heavy animals did not frequent truly soft ground (Car-
penter and Tidwell, 2005). A Camarasaurus recently exhibited at the University of Kansas
shows the dangers of that activity. She died in a Jurassic river unable to pull her feet free.
There are numerous sauropod trackways (Falkingham, 2012) which were made in rela-
tively shallow water. Certainly, sauropods could spend time on solid ground and in shallow
water, but where did they spend most of their time? Two remarkable paintings by Charles
Knight suggested a water habitat (Charles Knight, 2005), but now many think they lived like
elephants on open plains (Carpenter and Tidwell, 2005). Stress fractures of the pes might sup-
port the latter interpretation. Stress fractures were found in only half of examined sauropods

Academia Letters, October 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Bruce Rothschild, spondylair@gmail.com

Citation: Rothschild, B. (2021). Sauropods walk; skeletons talk. Academia Letters, Article 3647.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3647.

2
(Rothschild and Molnar, 2005), similar to tail fusions (Rothschild and Berman, 1991)? Per-
haps the stress of digging holes for the eggs predisposed the females to stress fractures in
the feet. Perhaps position in mating or egg-laying can also account for the ratio in the tail
vertebrae fusions, purposed to reduce the stress on elevating tails during mating. In either
case, it is proposed that presence of osteological abnormalities of the feet and causal verte-
brae may permit us to determine the sex of dinosaur skeletons and may lead to a whole new
set of inferences.
Surprisingly, understanding the behavior of dinosaurs may contribute to the advance-
ment of medicine. Obesity (great weight) has been considered one of the major causes of
osteoarthritis. However, weight bearing joints of sauropods are free of that disease (Roth-
schild, 1990). How could this be so? It turns out that dinosaurs had a mechanical advantage
that we lack. Their joints (e.g., knees) could only bend and straighten, as hinges. Although
the human knee is sometimes called a hinge joint, look at your knee when you bend it: It
rotates. Ligaments in the human knee prevent excess movement, but bone (joint) anatomy in
the dinosaur can accomplish the same thing. As humans age and suffer the ‘slings and arrows
of outrageous fortune’ (the minor and major traumas inherent in the life condition) the liga-
ments in their joints (e.g., knees/ankles) become stretched or torn. This causes the joints to
become unstable, and it is the instability and the mechanical disadvantage of shifting weight
on a fulcrum that give rise to osteoarthritis, not the weight itself (Rothschild, 2012). As we
better understand dinosaur behavior, we have the opportunity to better understand ourselves.
Fossils allow us to understand, speculate about and scientifically test and validate ideas
about anatomy, phylogeny (relationships), lifestyle and habitat. Far from being a static field of
single points in time, it actually is quite dynamic, frequently allowing a window to the behavior
of long extinct animals. But, like all scientific endeavors, it usually ends with a question.
References:
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Falkingham PLBates KT, Mannion PD. 2012. Temporal and palaeoenvironmental distri-
bution of manus- and pes-dominated sauropod trackways. Journal of the Geological Society
169:365-370.
Kadel NJ, Teitz CC, Kronmal RA. 1992, Stress fractures in ballet dancers. Am J Sports
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Knight CR. 2005. Charles R. Knight: Autobiography of an Artist. Charles R. Knight,
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Moodie R.L. 1916. Two Caudal Vertebrae of a Sauropodous Dinosaur Exhibiting a Patho-

Academia Letters, October 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Bruce Rothschild, spondylair@gmail.com

Citation: Rothschild, B. (2021). Sauropods walk; skeletons talk. Academia Letters, Article 3647.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3647.

3
logical Lesion. American Journal of Science 41:530-531.
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Academia Letters, October 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Bruce Rothschild, spondylair@gmail.com

Citation: Rothschild, B. (2021). Sauropods walk; skeletons talk. Academia Letters, Article 3647.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL3647.