Article: Modeling growth rates for sauropod dinosaurs

Abstract.-

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest terrestrial animals and their growth rates remain a subject of debate. By counting growth lines in histologic sections and relating bone length to body mass, it has been estimated that Apatosaurus attained its adult body mass of about 25,000 kg in as little as 15 years, with a maximum growth rate over 5000 kg/yr. This rate exceeds that projected for a precocial bird or eutherian mammal of comparable estimated body mass. An alternative method of estimating limb length and body mass for each growth line, and fitting the resulting age/mass data to the von Bertalanffy growth equation, yields a revised growth curve suggesting that Apatosaurus adult ...

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