Long-necked dinosaurs do not face the neck up high?

Long-necked dinosaurs are not looking for food on the tops of trees, according to a new study that the prehistoric species should keep their necks horizontal and not upwards.

Raising your long neck to wide angles can put significant pressure on sauropod's heart, causing them to consume a large amount of energy to pump blood to the brain, a new study says.

Sauropod is a long-necked herbivorous dinosaur whose long and 4-legged tail lives about 200 to 66 million years ago.

Because modern long-necked animals, such as giraffes, often search for leaves in tall trees, anthropologists also anticipate that sauropods - this dinosaur's neck may be about 30 minutes long (9 meters) - also have the same habit.

But Roger Seymoir, of the University of Adelaide in Australia, found that sauropods must use 75% of their body energy to lift their heads up.

Most mammals use about 10% of their energy to circulate blood around their bodies. Giraffes use 18% of their energy to carry blood through their long necks.

Seymour said: 'Is a rich food source in tall trees worth the price? This may seem uncertain. It would make more sense if sauropods were looking for food with their necks almost horizontal.

By moving the neck horizontally, sauropods can search for food in a very wide range without moving the body.

This does not seem like an effective energy saving method. However, in animals with a weight of between 30 and 40 tons, the difference is only a few steps can mean great.

Long neck dinosaurs (Photo: Nationalgeographic.com)

'Meal' is expensive

However, some scientists who did not participate in Seymour's study argue that, in necessary cases, sauropods still need to use more energy to lift their necks high.

The bones and joints of this animal show that they can lift their necks 30 to 60 degrees from the horizontal, anthropologist Martin Sander, University of Bonn Germany, said.

When low- and medium-high food becomes scarce, the animal should also accept the price to pay to raise its head in search of valuable food sources, Sander added.

Richard Cowen, of the University of California, Davis, stressed that other animals sometimes use large amounts of energy to find food.

Cheetahs chase after prey although this cat family only succeeds in a quarter of the catches. Similarly, whales use large amounts of energy to dive deep into cold water, and migratory birds also consume large amounts of energy to fly thousands of miles.

All of these behaviors can consume a lot of energy, but we know that these animals do not always get something in proportion.

Cowen concluded: 'It is also reasonable for sauropods to sometimes raise their heads to search for food'.