# Dear Nessie, Why the long neck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032 "2001-02-27T06:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/1 "2001-02-27T06:58:22Z")
Well not Nessie exactly, but her long extinct kin, [the pleisiosaurs.](http://www.internatif.org/bortzmeyer/dinos/plesiosaurus_normal.jpeg) These prehistoric marine reptiles look rather like brontosaurus with flippers. The long necks on sauropods like [apatosaurus](http://www.internatif.org/bortzmeyer/dinos/brontosaurus_normal.jpeg) and [diplodocus](http://www.lhl.lib.mo.us/pubserv/hos/dino/images/knt5h.jpg) are said to allow these giants to browse the treetops. But what the heck did a marine reptile do with such a long neck? ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/2 "2001-02-27T07:48:44Z")
I’m thinking “periscope”… Or, on the other hand, if you are an extremely large, carnivorous, marine animal it might be pretty hard to change course quickly when you are trying to catch a fish; so a long neck might be very handy for hunting (as you could whip it around pretty fast in pusuit of darting fishyies). Just a WAG, but sounds reasonable to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/3 "2001-02-27T07:51:37Z")
It’s for balance, really. Neck length in such animals was driven by the need for long tails. (FTR, apatosaurus et all did not use their necks to eat the top leafs- they couldn’t reach 'em.) Diplodocus, it has been discovered, could actually move it’s tail fast enough to break the speed of sound. (For what? Communication? Who knows?). The tail in this case was most likely an extremely powerful propellant. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/4 "2001-02-27T07:53:27Z")
An intriguing question. Try this: [http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/6/0,5716,118986+24+110251,00.html](http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/6/0,5716,118986+24+110251,00.html) > [@](#): > > Most plesiosaurs had long necks. By moving toward their prey with the neck curved, they probably could strike suddenly. The heavy trunk would provide the inertia against which the neck could move, thus preventing a significant backward shift of the animal as the head shot forward. The modern sea snakes (Hydrophidae) show the same adaptation. Though they swim with an eel-like undulation of the body, the sea snakes have relatively small heads, slender necks, and very heavy middle and rear sections. With most of the body mass concentrated in the second half of the animal, almost all of the force of the strike is used to drive the head forward. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/5 "2001-02-27T16:32:14Z")
Watch cormorants and mergansers swimming underwater. That long snaky neck is perfect for stabbing and grabbing within a fairly large radius while the bird swims along, increasing his chances of catching something. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/6 "2001-02-27T17:25:50Z")
**DDG, Ice Wolf,** Muchas gracias. I was thinking along the lines of prey catching, but couldn’t come up with any modern animals with analogous adaptations. My four and a half year old will be delighted (the guy just loves all things prehistoric, it’s soooo cute) ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/7 "2001-02-27T18:12:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by choosybeggar \* > are said to allow these giants to browse the treetops. Not necessarily the case. [http://www.discover.com/science\_news/gthere.html?article=ancscience.html](http://www.discover.com/science_news/gthere.html?article=ancscience.html) ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/8 "2001-02-27T18:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sue Duhnym \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by choosybeggar \* > > are said to allow these giants to browse the treetops. > > Not necessarily the case. > > [http://www.discover.com/science\_news/gthere.html?article=ancscience.html](http://www.discover.com/science_news/gthere.html?article=ancscience.html) \*\* Wow, **Sue** , is my son going to be excited now. I checked out the article in Science that your cite references. Very interesting. So long-necked terrestrial dinosaurs probably used their necks just to reach the ground. Does that suggest that their great size helped them avoid predation and the long neck was simply an adaptation to achieve great size and yet still be able to eat? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/9 "2001-02-28T00:05:24Z")
But that link only talks about _Apatosaurus_ and _Diplodocus_. The ones that are really thought to have been tree-top browsers are _Brachiosaurus_ and its kin. They not only had long necks but also very long forelimbs. IIRC, some may have been 45 feet tall. So that article really doesn’t address the issue of browsing by other sauropods at all. **andygirl** , most plesiosaurs had very short tails, so balance wasn’t an issue. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/10 "2001-02-28T07:56:09Z")
My bad. I wasn’t thinking of plesiosaur. My dino prof informes me that the other sauropods likewise didn’t do the munching on treetop thing. ---
**Author:** ![Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazing_Tiki_God)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-nessie-why-the-long-neck/56032/11 "2001-02-28T08:30:45Z")
I know this really doesn’t add to this thread but I can’t help but look at those first 3 pictures and see the silly grins on these creatures faces. Whats on the other side of the picture that we don’t see that is making them smile? :::ducks and runs like a lil’ bitch:::