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Sauropods were large herbivorous dinosaurs with long necks and tails that could potentially create a sonic boom by wagging their tails at supersonic speeds. However, it is debated whether they actually did this as it may have been harmful. Sauropod fossils have been found on every continent and examples include Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and Argentinosaurus. “Sauropod” means “lizard foot” in Greek, despite their feet not resembling those of lizards.
Sauropods were a type of herbivorous dinosaur that arose in the Triassic and Jurassic periods and survived for 100 million years. One of their most distinguishing characteristics was their size: some weighed nearly 100 tons and reached heights of up to 60 feet (18 m). Sauropods also had very long necks and tails. The tails of some sauropods resembled whips, being wider at the base and narrower at the tip. According to some computer models, sauropods could wag their tails in ways that could cause their tails to exceed the speed of sound, causing a powerful sonic boom. That means they could wag their tails fast enough to break the sound barrier, at more than 700 miles (1,200 km) per hour. This research and computer modeling was the result of a collaboration between Dr. Nathan P. Myhrvold of Microsoft Corporation and Dr. Philip J. Currie of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta. However, some scientists argue that while it would have been technically possible for sauropods to move their tails at supersonic speeds, it is unlikely that they did. Using the tail in this way may have been too painful and harmful to sauropods.
Read more about sauropods:
Sauropod fossils have been found on every continent on Earth.
Diplodocus, Apatosaurus and Argentinosaurus are examples of sauropods.
Sauropod is Greek for “lizard foot,” although sauropod feet don’t resemble those of a lizard.
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