The Articulation of Sauropod Necks: Methodology and Mythology
Figure 9
Sauropod necks did not have avian flexibility.
Cervical vertebra C13 of the ostrich Struthio camelus (A) and C13 of Apatosaurus louisae (B) are scaled to equal vertebral axis length. The heterocoelous central articulation (A) and the opisthocoelous articulation (B), both have geometrically-defined centers of rotation defined by their centers of curvature in the sagittal plane. The ostrich postzygapophyses (red) are both relatively larger and closer to the center of rotation (white arrows) than those of the sauropod. The geometric consequence is that for any value of ZSF applied equally to the ostrich and to the sauropod, the former will have a greater range of motion. C and D show two articulated cervical vertebrae, C13 and C14, near the base of the neck of Diplodocus carnegii (CM 84) in maximum lateroventral flexion to the left (C) and maximum laterodorsal flexion (D), i.e., diagonal extremes of the range of motion. Note that the postzygapophyses (red regions) in C and D barely overlap their associated prezygapophyses (the ZSF is about 0.5). Struthio image courtesy John Martin; Apatosaurus image courtesy Virginia Tidwell. Supplemental material: Movie S1.