I analyzed and summarized the articles “It’s Not a Stretch: This Dinosaur Had a 50-Foot Neck” and “Dunk Was Chunky, but Still Deadly”.
“It’s Not a Stretch: This Dinosaur Had a 50-Foot Neck. “The article discusses a recent study published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology that estimates the neck length of the sauropod dinosaur Mamenchisaurus to be nearly 50 feet, making it the longest neck of any sauropod species and potentially the longest neck of any animal observed. was led by Andrew Moore, a paleontologist at Stony Brook University, who used the fossils of close relatives of Mamenchisaurus, especially Xinjiangtitan, to estimate its neck length. The researchers found that the interior of the sauropod’s vertebrae was filled with large air pockets, which accounted for up to 77 percent of each bone’s volume and vastly decreased the weight of Mamenchisaurus’ spine.
Overall, the article appears to be a brief overview of the study and its findings. Using CT scans to analyze the interior of dinosaur vertebrae is a valuable technique for studying the anatomy of extinct animals, and the researchers’ use of close relatives to estimate the neck length of Mamenchisaurus is quite reasonable and plausible, given the available fossil evidence limitation. However, like any scientific research, there may be limitations or uncertainties in methods or data, which require further research and discussion. Science is always in the process of seeking evidence, and we need to be skeptical of everything.
And another article “Dunk Was Chunky, but Still Deadly” is just the opposite of this one, “It’s Not a Stretch: This Dinosaur Had a 50-Foot Neck” is to prove that the neck of Mamenchisaurus is bigger than the existing prediction Longer, while the ancient race of Dunkleus is suspected to have become smaller.
The article focuses on a fossilized fish called Dunkleosteus, a larger but still fearsome predator that ruled subtropical oceans during the Devonian period. A recent study suggests that the ancient fish may have been only about 13 feet long, and they resembled more squat tunas than slender sharks.
The researchers determined the size of ‘Dunkleosteus’ by comparing its armored head to the size of the skulls of hundreds of living and fossil fish species, estimating its head to be about 24 inches long and its body to be just over 11 feet long. Although the size of “Dunkleosteus” does not seem to be as large as previously predicted, it still has a firm bite and lethality.
In addition, the study also found that “Dunkleosteus” is generally considered to have a slender shark-like body, but more complete fossils show that this fish has a squat, cylindrical body, more like a squat tuna.
Although the research results have been praised by some people, some people have questioned this discovery, because there are few fossils in the rest of the body except the head, making it difficult to accurately infer its true body shape. Therefore, some believe that this study did not fully reveal the true form of “Dunkleosteus”.
“ “People think this is a downgrade, but this is actually an upgrade,” he said.”(Tamisiea 1) Although some paleontologists are not convinced of Engelman’s findings, he believes that this study is an upgrade and not a downgrade, as it sheds light on the predator’s fast movements in open water and does not take away from its prowess.
