Animals Before Man 



must not be held to mean that these big beasts 

 passed all their time in the water, for they 

 doubtless came out now and then to wander 

 ponderously along the shore, and there must 

 have been a deal of strength in the great 

 muscles attached to their big bones. Besides, 

 it is a dangerous matter to assert too positively 

 what an animal could or could not do, for even 

 living animals have a way of doing some very 

 surprising things. In structure and general 

 appearance these large dinosaurs were, so far 

 as is known, very much alike ; they had mas- 

 sive limbs with solid bones, rather short bodies, 

 long necks and tails, and very small heads. 

 The tail seems to have served as a counterpoise 

 to the body, and if these animals did not rear 

 up on their hind legs when on land, they surely 

 did while in the water. As this would raise 

 the head from 20 to 30 feet above the water, 

 the animal could take a pretty comprehensive 

 view of his surroundings, and possibly note 

 whether or not one of his carnivorous brethren 

 was after him. 



The leg-bones of these sauropods are the 

 154 



