Brachiosaurus Weaknesses
The brachiosaurus lived in the late Jurassic period between 156 and 145 million years ago. It was one of the largest animals to have walked the earth. It had a giraffe-like stance with its long neck held at an angle of forty-five degrees. Its head was relatively small with large nostrils from which paleontologists conclude the animal had a keen sense of smell. |
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The brachiosaurus weighed upto 80 tons, stood between 40 to 50 feet tall at the head and was about 85 feet long. With this enormous height it was able to reach the highest tree tops from which it fed prodigiously being herbivorous. Its long spatulate teeth enabled it to handle tougher plant material than other animals of the period but it is believed to have chewed its food without chewing.
For a number of years it was believed that the brachiosaurus spent much of its time in the water which lent support to its weighty body. But this theory is now discarded and it is generally accepted that the animal was strictly terrestrial, walking on all four feet. Because of its size, the brachiosaurus was not known to have any predators.
One of the problems common to many of the large sauropods -- the enormous plant-eaters of the time -- was their blood pressure. The brachiosaurus was no exception. In order to pump blood enough to oxygenate its brain, the brachiosaurus required a huge, powerful heart capable of pumping blood at a relatively high pressure through wide muscular vessels. The vascular system had a number of valves to prevent back flow of blood. It is presumed the blood pressure of the brachiosaurus would be as high as 400 mm of mercury, about three to four times that of man.
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