We do not know what the structure of the sauropod digestive system looked like, but there are some clues about it in fossil specimens. These show that there were large numbers of smooth, well-worn stones inside the animal’s body. Scientists think that these were held in a muscular gizzard organ, like that of a bird. The stones churned and ground the plant food to aid digestion.
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It is unlikely that a predator could bring down an adult sauropod because of its huge size. However, the young sauropods may have been more at risk.
Sauropods such as Diplodocus had a large claw on the front foot, and were probably able to rear up and use this claw to defend themselves. Some scientists believe that they could swing their huge long tail as a weapon. It would have struck the attacker with great force, like an enormous whip.
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Most of the great sauropods relied on their huge size to prevent attacks from predators. Saltosaurus was not as large as many of the other sauropods, but as compensation for this its back was covered with armoured plates. These plates were ridged and packed close together to provide extra protection. The fossils of Saltosaurus found so far are incomplete, so we do not know exactly how far this armour extended over its body. Most of the sauropods were well able to defend themselves with a large clawed toe on the inside of the front foot, and they probably also trampled any attackers, using their great weight.
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Brachiosaurus used to he considered the tallest of the dinosaurs. It was 25 m long, but it stood more erect than other sauropods because its front legs were so much longer than the rear ones. Its head was very small, but it reached up to 13 m above the ground.
Recently, another dinosaur called Sauroposeidon has been described. This huge animal stood 17.2 M high, making it three times the height of the tallest giraffe. Each of the vertebrae in its neck was more than 1 m long, and its bones were filled with tiny air cells which helped to reduce their weight.
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Most people have heard of the Brontosaurus, which is the sauropod described in many books and films. This term is no longer used, however. It was discovered that the fossil originally called Brontosaurus had already been described, and was called Apatosaurus. This latter name is the one now officially recognized by scientists.
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Scientists cannot agree on the maximum size of these giant dinosaurs. Brachiosaurus is usually said to be the biggest, weighing 77 tonnes. A recently described dinosaur, provisionally called Ultrasaurus, is thought to have been about 30 m long and to have weighed as much as 130 tonnes. This would make it by far the heaviest land animal ever to have existed. Even the mighty blue whale is small in comparison to these huge prehistoric creatures.
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