Dinosaur Giants Evolved All-Terrain Bodies

Some of the world's largest dinosaurs headed for the hills and evolved all-terrain bodies to support mountain living, suggests a new study in the journal Paleobiology.

These dinosaurs were titanosaurs, plant eaters that first emerged around 160 million years ago. One of the largest titanosaurs, Argentinosaurus, may have reached lengths of 100 feet.

(Skeletal reconstruction of Argentinosaurus; Credit: James Emery)

Argentinosaurus and other titanosaurs belonged to a larger group of dinosaurs called sauropods. They're easy to identify, with their lengthy tails, big, lumbering bodies, long necks and tiny heads.

(Alamosaurus, Credit: DiBgd, Wikimedia Commons)

But palaeontologists Philip Mannion and Paul Upchurch at University College London found that inland and mountain-dwelling titanosaurs had a wider legged stance than coastal dwelling sauropods.

Mannion told the news service Planet Earth that 'their wider stance perhaps benefits walking in irregular terrain." 

Titanosaurs also sometimes possessed body amour and teeth different from those of other dinosaurs.

He and Upchurch first started to look at sauropods, wondering if these dinosaurs lived in different habitats. The scientists put together a 2500-entry database containing all known worldwide occurrences of sauropods.

The researchers then decided to focus on titanosaurs because, in part, the geological properties of rocks where such dinosaur fossils are found provide good clues as to where the titanosaurs lived. The researchers determined that "titanosaurs preferred inland habitats, for example lake and river environments or mountainous areas with irregular terrain."

"This may explain why titanosaurs survived for 20 million years, after all other sauropods went extinct," said Mannion. "Maybe their preference for inland environments was beneficial and protected the group from extinction until they disappeared with all other dinosaurs."

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