The Bizarre Truth of Sauropod Feet

[@gabrielsmedleysanimaltime5826]

Darn right a lot has been learned, it's gotten to the point where I can't even look at a dinosaur picture and ask myself "Is this accurate? Should it have feathers? WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT!?"

[@vaporean_boylove.0w083]

I do that too XD. Sometimes I just randomly doodle a dinosaur and experiment with these questions to see if that would look right.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

Absolutly. I tried to question the authenticity of reconstructions before, but within the last years it got really interesting - it is incredible what details can be found out. And I like the little channel YDAW ("Your dinosaurs are wrong") which evaluates popular reconstructions and especially toys - a wonderful way to teach the youngest dinosaur enthusiasts, and I wish something like this had existed when I was young - but its content is absolutly suited for adult dinosaur fans too.

[@PandorasFolly]

Where are is ass bag eye spots? Large baggy sacks of skin that are brightly colored and look like eye spots.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

@@PandorasFolly What do you mean? Such bags are not unlikely, but pure speculation. If sauropods had colourful patterns or displays is unknown - again not totally unlikely, but a speculation.

[@PandorasFolly]

@@kai_plays_khomus pure speculation entirely. But the thought of little velioceraptors, not Jurassic Park sized ones, with brightly colored baboonlike butts makes me laugh. Also I know there is no evidence that I know of for it, but I always wondered if one of the potentially warmblooded species developed a.....marsupial like pouch for their eggs. Replacing the nest with a warm body pouch. Like I said. No evidence but in the entire mesozoic era I can see it happening.

[@microwaveoven9170]

Didn't expect to watch a video on dino feet today, but it's always welcomed.

[@wetube6513]

With a dumb guy who thought feathers and mammal fur have the same mass...

[@microwaveoven9170]

@@wetube6513 now now no need to be angy

[@brandoballer47]

Now now, not just some "dino"... the coolest most wholesome of all sauruses... the colossal SAUROPODS!

[@microwaveoven9170]

@@brandoballer47 true that!

[@Майрук]

It's not a foot fetish, it's paleontology!

[@dannymoreno8344]

0:19 Ben's shadow looks like a velociraptor and I cant unsee it

[@eugeneflynn7435]

It’s all I can see. Very menacing.

[@sevenof9652]

Snap 🦖

[@sonic3000010]

He's actually a velociraptor telling us the facts because he's seen them first hand

[@JamesChessman]

hmm it may be a ghost of a raptor who is hanging around him... that may explain why the shadow looks that way.

[@Zyn_Shi]

He's actually a velociraptor in disguise

[@madcat789]

What a lovely birthday gift. Thank you Dinosaur-Man.

[@killergoose3436]

happy birthday

[@shadowfox8748]

Happy birthday

[@madcat789]

@@killergoose3436 Thank you King Dinosaur.

[@madcat789]

@@shadowfox8748 Thank you Shadow Fox.

[@kennybadri8759]

Happy Birthday ^^

[@whitelion2020]

As an artist with special interest in creature designs, this type of episode really excites me. I have a million questions about prehistoric animal anatomy and how it most likely functioned. This is awesome

[@JamesChessman]

Yes very awesome but now I'm wondering about such words as "excites," "questions," "anatomy," and "how it most likely functioned," hmmmm...

[@a-bird-lover]

@@JamesChessman ?? bruh are you seriously trying to make the dinosaurs sexual? Gross dude

[@JamesChessman]

@@a-bird-lover No I was ASKING if OP meant it that way because I hope not!!

[@a-bird-lover]

@@JamesChessman it's pretty obviously not,, people can just think things are cool you know

[@magnagermania9311]

@@a-bird-lover you're also making dinosaurs sexual, being a BIRD LOVER I'm sorry

[@zennyfieldster4220]

It’s so weird looking at the tiny pillar legs they’re represented with nowadays. I like it but it’s also crazy how they supported their weight with them.

[@Tonius126]

Feel the same after seeing a Giraffes in person. Huge body with skinny legs, weird.

[@JamesChessman]

@@Tonius126 Yes see it's animals like giraffes that show how lazy they are, in their natural state, they let themselves look skinny and disgusting and unattractive. Only the best creatures will actually take the time to work out and build up our muscles so we can look healthy and attractive, you know?

[@aceneto9386]

James Chessman lol nice joke it’s wild tho giraffes can run pretty fast and for those tiny legs quite a ways tho.

[@KhanMann66]

@@aceneto9386 With a kick strong enough to break a lion’s skull!

[@aceneto9386]

KhaanMan66 makes you wonder if science and biology even matters lol, giraffes are magic bahaha

[@Vulcano7965]

Sauropod forelimbs just got a lot weirder and uncomfortable to look at.

[@JamesChessman]

Yeah and he didn't even mention how they were probably used in dinosaur sexuality and foreplay...

[@muzasbar]

@Alan yeah I think that’s the only way it makes sense... or maybe it is that I grew used to see their feets as similar to elephants lol

[@jamesaron1967]

@Alan Yeah agreed, definitely missing. Sauropod specimens are never found complete.

[@kennethsatria6607]

Really makes me think of wyvern dragons essentially knuckle walking

[@andrewpaige1194]

I know, right? It looks so...WRONG! Looking at them makes me.....anxious, for some reason! Almost like im expecting them to break or collapse any moment!

[@riceballs279]

So basically this how the saurobod evolved. Saurobod: yo this tree is tall, lemme tip toe a bit (eats) you know what this is actually useful. Years later every saurobod wearing high heels.

[@thehantavirus]

elephants actually kinda do the same thing, except they have cushion under thier feet as well.

[@shmuelparzal]

The way that the toes (or rather fingers) on the front limbs of these sauropods is arranged, strongly reminds me of how I locomote when on all fours. I have a very bad back, and in my flat it is sometimes easier to go on all fours to get about a room, rather than try to find my walking stick. The most comfortable way to place my fingers, is to have the top two bones of each of my fingers facing inwards, with the back of the fingers flat on the floor, with most of the weight actually resting on the forefinger and middle finger. The thumb is for balance, and placed facing backwards and slightly to the side. This results in the fingers forming a column, with the palm forming a hollow at the back. This is the most comfortable way to place my hands when I am on all fours, and I suspect that this might have been the case when the ancestors of sauropods first went down on all fours. It could also explain why some sauropods lost the tops of their fingers over time, as you say, since they are not really needed when you place your hands and fingers in this way.

[@BHuang92]

In most animals, its easier for them to walk on all fours by our definition of knuckles. It allows even distribution of mass and pressure when in locomotion.

[@Chris.Davies]

Knuckle walking is also very common in apes.

[@jacobthompson1682]

In that fossil that's more the top of the hand than it is fingers, Ben did just finish saying the fingers had been reduced to nearly nothing.

[@michaelyu2744]

I'm curious, why do you walk on all fours at all?

[@zephari]

@@michaelyu2744 they said they have a bad back and sometimes it's easier to just go on all fours in their home than to find a cane

[@patrickmccurry1563]

"What were extinct dinosaurs lineages like? They were like X, and Y, BUT in many ways they were simply unique and unlike anything alive today." I guess many of us laymen sometimes forget they weren't some giant chimera of extant critters.

[@merrickmoriel8878]

That will be very helpful! I just started volunteering at dinosaur ridge in colorado. It's apart of the morrison formation. We do have sauropod track casts which do show some of this as well! I've watched a lot of your videos and it has helped tremendously as a volunteer! Thank you!

[@bluefoxsquare4213]

Ooooh morrison formation! Fingers crossed you find something revolutionary ;) 🤞

[@antonbrakhage490]

I spent most of my childhood in Colorado, and visited Dinosaur Ridge on more than one occassion. I remember the sauropod tracks. Its on my list of places to visit, once travel to the US becomes practical again.

[@slas5579]

"Finally, someone is asking the REAL questions" - A DeviantArt user

[@rabidL3M0NS]

The fact that derived titanosaurs lost their finger bones and just walked on the ends of their metacarpals blows me away!

[@garythefishable]

Often dinosaurs are reconstructed in the way we would want them to look rather than the way they probably actually looked. Which is a shame because the reality is much more interesting than the fiction.

[@Veldtian1]

It's people doing the best with the info at hand in a particular moment in time, it's not necessarily a biases. Although in the past 10-15 years dinosaurs have become truly freakishly unfamiliar to what we became accustomed to in the previous 50 years.

[@garythefishable]

@@Veldtian1 That certainly plays a role but I would also say its definitely the case that dinosaurs especially in pop culture are generally presented as monstrous oversized caricatures of themselves. Even when depicted in more educational media we still often see large predatory theropods with shrink wrapped faces, large easily visible teeth and a mammalian inspired roar.

[@sinenomine4540]

@@SimonWoodburyForget "The purpose of art is to make things appear nice to the human eye. " That's a very short-sighted and completely wrong definition of art.

[@autumnox2174]

@@SimonWoodburyForget There's literally entire genres of art that havef to do exactly with being ugly. Scientific art 's purpose is to give us a visual of what those living things _were_, not what they want to be. While some definitions of art, like "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. " specify beauty, most others don't, just being "works produced by human creative skill and imagination" "creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture. " "subjects of study primarily concerned with the processes and products of human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects). " The end result of art is not just to look good. It is very, very often to represent something and to communicate knowledge. Your definition of art is archaic and neglectful in a multitude of areas. Scientific art is itself a genre.

[@fmlAllthetime]

Both people here arguing about art are right in different ways, as is often the case with art haha. I find it amusing as someone who is quite fond of art of all types.

[@TFdragon64]

I never thought I needed to see a sauropod punting a small raptor but by god I'm glad

[@austinhinton3944]

Many animal groups often take an adaptation and push it to it's extreme (giraffe necks, elephant trunks), titanosaurs loosing their fingers is the logical extreme of finger reduction in other sauropods

[@evilsharkey8954]

Horses losing all their digits except one...

[@andrewkawam2603]

Have to love the way Ben says ‘tortoise’.

[@Moray2023]

Brachiosaurus with a foot fetish - *Heavy Breathing*

[@Tempusverum]

🅱️urger 🅱️ing fin fettuce

[@blondbraid7986]

4:06 Those front feet deeply unnerve me, it's as if someone chopped off it's feet and it's walking on the stumps. 🦕😧

[@JamesChessman]

actually I'm sorry but that's your imagination which is terrible but I would prefer to think that they were happy healthy dinosaurs in their time.

[@evilsharkey8954]

There were probably differences in skin texture and possibly color that made them look more like feet and less like truncated limbs.

[@KhanMann66]

Makes them unique.😉

[@hendrikvanhoutte5940]

New fetish: Accurate sauropod feet

[@Shoebill1447]

God seeing humanity: why?

[@droopsmoop]

@@Shoebill1447 god is dead and sauropod feet fetishes killed him

[@Shoebill1447]

@@droopsmoop this is why I blame Satan on everything I am planning to argue with him in the bowling ally.

[@believethehorror9963]

Ohno- if even one person has thought about it it will become t r u e

[@dboot8886]

ST-... Y'know I can't argue...

[@JCX7771]

Amazing video, each day we learn more about dinos and each day they get weirder and weirder, love it.

[@fizzplease6742]

Wow I had no idea about the forefeet. That's amazing and looks incredibly weird to me at first glance. I want a coffee table book of the evolution of paleo art.

[@chrismartin3197]

Don’t you mean the intelligent design of paleo art? I kid, I kid...

[@j.nereim9055]

Like the book Taschen put out a few years ago?

[@fizzplease6742]

@@j.nereim9055 I'm going to look this up, thank you!

[@grahamsmith2022]

Fascinating,when I was a kid in the 1970's all Sauropods were portrayed with elephant feet front and rear.

[@aaxolotl2807]

ironically enough i had been pondering the shape of a sauropods foot recently how convenient and eye-opening this is information that i never would have guessed thanks for the video

[@coreymerrill3257]

So they have armored bird like feet designed to hold heavy weight. Probably had scale like coverings on the feet and lower legs like birds often do too.

[@ShepStevVidEOs]

I never thought a video about dinosaur feet would catch my attention so much, but here we are. Fascinating!

[@godslaughter]

Gods, I love the scientific community for their passion to understand other animals, their evolutionary history, incredible cognitive functions, anatomy and so on, but something that makes me inexplicably happy is the fact that this community fully understands when I say "front limbs on vertebrates are anatomically arms and those 'feet' are actually hands" Bless you, peeps, I adore you and your content.

[@dynamosaurusimperious6341]

In Summary: *Sauropod are quite unqiue among the many other dinosaur speices that they would have live alongside,and if Plaeoart grow by the plenty,we start to understand alot more on the unqiue shapes of these reptilian giants.* Also nice new background,Ben it very nice and thanks again for solving the world's most important question ( in Paleontology. )

[@Dino-lemon265]

I see you everywhere you always get a top comment

[@UtterNoobness]

Congrats u invaded the whole of KZbin.

[@kevinireland8020]

incoherent

[@planescaped]

The one front claw has to be just for general utility I'd say. I sincerely doubt it was for combat. I imagine it'd also greatly help their hoof in going up slopes or on uneven ground of any type.

[@erikringdal844]

Many years ago i read an article about sea turtles. At least one species had the males wearong a forelimb claw in the thumb position, corresponding with marks om the carapace of females , ensuring a firm grip. This could be at least a partial explanation for What we see. But then females do not need them. Have we enough material to observe this?

[@snakehead214]

I always find it strange when people talk about extinct animals and are like "What was that claw for? Defense? Digging?" I mean what do cats use their claws for? Only hunting? Only climbing? Only fighting? No of course not. They use it for everything. So in my opinion we can safely say that dinosaurs also did not use their claws for only one thing either.

[@latrodectusmactans7592]

Exactly. Animals are good at using their anatomy for a variety of functions.

[@aaronforsythe8556]

When you have a specialized appendage there is usually a specific reason as to why.

[@evilsharkey8954]

I don’t know what it’s primary purpose was, but they probably used it to scratch the occasional itch.

[@KhanMann66]

Always keep an open mind.

[@latrodectusmactans7592]

Sauropods were utter terrifying badasses. Think of it this way: Imagine how dangerous an elephant or hippo is. Now imagine an animal 2-6 times as heavy as the largest bull elephant. Now imagine this animal’s entire life history is based around starting at the size of a football (With likely minimal parental care) and hopefully surviving and growing until it’s big to fend for itself. Most of its siblings will he picked off at an early age. Even when the sauropod outgrows the predators it feared as a baby, it will still have to ward off attacks from large theropods. Now imagine that this adult animal, which can easily weigh more than 50 tons, which spent its entire life fearing attacks from predators and has to be temperamental at the sight of anything that even mildly resembles danger to survive, has a whip-like tail that makes up half its length. Said whip-like tail is powered by the largest muscles of any land animal ever. An iguana hitting you with its tail can cause lacerations. A sauropod hitting you with its tail would make you explode.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Angry Dreadnoughtus from Prehistoric Planet...

[@occamsrayzor]

Your videos continue to amaze me with their depth and quality of information!

[@zenocrate4040]

As a dusty academic who always dreamed of becoming a palaeontologist I absolutely love your channel! Your knowledge and your presentation of that knowledge is very impressive and a reliable source of delight and wonder.

[@sillybeanthing]

My next project will probably be sauropods. I usually only draw theropods but honestly I need to expand my skills. Thank you for the inspiration! :>

[@anicepineapple9067]

I love learning about all these changes. Idk If this is true for anyone else but the more we learn about these animal's appearance the more earthly and less alien they look for me, which weirdly makes me even more excited about them.

[@romankozak8728]

Ben, I always enjoy your videos. You always manage to combine serious information with real enthusiasm. You avoid the droning monotony one the one hand, and the stupid silliness on the other that characterize too many of the science videos out there.

[@jamesaron1967]

Sauropods are some of the most difficult to accurately depict extinct group of animals. Their anatomy was beyond crazy.

[@madderhat5852]

I always wondered why they couldn't wear......crocs. Thank you , thank you, I'll be here all week.

[@eldritchangel4058]

Ah, Diplodocus: Could whip you into next week with it's tail. Had an Apatosaurus skull put on it's neck and was called brontosaurus for decades, and now being one of the first four legged animals to give anything a thumbs up.

[@rizkymaulana2002]

I think there's a confusion here. Diplodocus was never associated with Brontosaurus history. And Brontosaurus has been a valid genus too.

[@cliffbooth1620]

Brontosaurus was given a camarasaurus skull

[@KhanMann66]

Brontosaurus has been validated since 2015 since their neck vertebrae are slightly different from Apatosaurus.

[@rizkymaulana2002]

@@KhanMann66 Not just the neck vertebra, but also scapula and astragalus (basically the foot bones) ;)

[@andrewpaige1194]

Wow, those fully fleshed out front feet r actually kinda creepy looking for some reason. Not sure why, but they definitely have a very weird and freaky look about them.

[@BillySugger1965]

Superb content, as always. And love the look, great stylish haircut. Really suits you!

[@Destini1994]

Been waiting for a new vid man! I hope your studies go well and thank you for the new video!

[@alioramus1637]

Nice! feels like it's been a while since we got video that focuses on dinosaurs from you. Always a welcomed addition to a Sunday. Even though dinosaurs are the most awesome prehistoric animals they tend to overshadow other magnificent dynasties like the Therapsids.

[@bri1085]

The Jurassic and even moreso the Cretaceous are given too much of a spotlight when it comes to paleontology. Triassic needs more light and the Permian as well

[@BloxfruitKatakuri461]

Very interesting. You are the first person to ever cover this. Thank You

[@andrewgan557]

it reminds me of your old video about "living dinosaurs" especially mokele mbembe and it's "footprints" in which they don't look like the actual footprints of an real souropod dinosaur.

[@historiansrevolt4333]

Great timing! I am currently making my way through Dinosaurs Without Bones, all about trace fossils. Highly recommend. This video is a great compliment .

[@theFLCLguy]

I knew it, the guy in the studio is a fake. This is the real host.

[@thetylife]

Well he is Ben.., his name is on the channel. I'm a huge FLCL fan.

[@theFLCLguy]

@@thetylife why would he shoot in his room if he has access to a huge studio? Obviously it's AI taking over his channel to spread misinformation about dinosaurs. Everyone who watched the documentary series Star Trek Voyager, knows the dinosaurs actually left Earth millions of years ago. What it didn't tell you was they returned and are the "reptilian aliens" in control of the world now. They use multiple layers of conspiracy theories to hide the truth and cause any getting close to the truth to go crazy. Look at Alex Jones, he exposed them at bohemian Grove and exposed how they are experimenting on frogs to turn them hermaphroditic. Most likely to make humans easier to breed and control.

[@williamjordan5554]

@@theFLCLguy Take your tinfoil hat off.

[@tracewyrm]

@@williamjordan5554 so the reptilians can mind control him? no way

[@one-eye-guy-0074]

@@theFLCLguy goddamnn that must have been a lot of big ships or just one big ass ship there was alot of dinos on earth and really big ones

[@shanerooney7288]

Fellas, if your Sauropod has: ~ a bipedal gait. ~ a crocodile-esque face ~ a large dorsal spin. That isn't your Sauropod. That's _Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus._

[@JamesChessman]

Is this a quote from a Jurassic Park movie or something lol.

[@shanerooney7288]

Yes.

[@patrickmcdonald8513]

Well done, as always. You clearly love the topic.

[@glassEeter]

I was gonna say "that's crazy" But I mean... horses and cows technically walk on their finger nails... So a dino walking on it's finger tips doesn't seem so unusual

[@Oiusea]

I really like your enthusiasm, sophisticated and intelligent way of speaking. I really enjoy your videos, and I see that you are working on your presentation skills. Keep it up!

[@chipwalter4490]

Incredible depth of research here! Thank you for explaining it in an understandable and fun way

[@awesomemccoolname7111]

These videos are fantastic, thank you so much for making them.

[@rameyzamora1018]

You make a good argument for every reconstruction in ay medium to have a date when it was created, Ben. Wonderful video with plenty of food for thought. More remains to learn!

[@joecaves6235]

The arc makes sense because the arc would be easier to extract from mud unlike a cylindrical shape would be stuck due to suction. That's how cows get stuck in mud. Supporting the weight is one thing but surface area is important to distribute the weight at the point of contact.

[@sine2923]

Yes and the single claw makes sense if you have ever cleaned the hoofs of a horse. If you wish to keep that cavity empty you need to work for it.

[@feuryie]

this'll be interesting to apply it when i draw sauropods as i wasn't aware at all about this.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

This was an incredible interesting video, thanks! There are so many videos repeating the same well known information again and again, but here you dealt with an interesting detail which is almost obscure although the particular dinosaurs are so widely known. Thanks again for this great video idea - I hope that many similar vids will follow. 💋

[@craigkdillon]

Good work. Why no discussion about tongues of Sauropods? The teeth of the Apatosaurus, for example, are good for clipping, but NOT chewing. SO, I think the Apatosaurus had a long tongue, like a giraffe, and used it to grab foliage, pull it into the mouth, clip it off, and swallow it whole, letting gastroliths to process it. Have yet to see a drawing of a Sauropod with prehensile tongues to feed. I think they are pretty obvious, and must have existed.

[@Andrey.Ivanov]

Amazing video. Although I am familiar with the overall anatomy of sauropod feet this video covers many important details which for sure will be helpful. It also got me thinking that I probably should draw some sauropods in the near future, cause I feel like I draw too much theropods. I am currently in a mammal-mood and I'm doing a bunch of proboscideans, but I may as well jump onto sauropods after that

[@johnnsteele2886]

I must say I generally dislike seeing the person behind the voice, but you are engaging and very attractive, so it was a pleasant surprise for a long time subscriber. Thank you always for the thorough yet concise information on new findings and humility to offer multiple ideas and to be able to acknowledge how much we don't know and yet are eager to learn. Many thanks

[@linuxelitist]

Thank you for explaining this on my favorite type of Dinosaur

[@itsluups2093]

why does he look like the kid in grade 8 who did all his work in time

[@7yrannosaurusrex]

0:06 woah that’s me

[@colonelgutsy2177]

I think it's just a matter of having a little bit more dexterity. I can only imagine that sometimes upon migration that these giant creatures had to traverse hills and mountains maybe.

[@leondrolet8695]

Why do I watch?: 1. Well made and fascinating science topics; 2. Ben is adorable.

[@glory2cybertron]

I imagine sloths and gorillas would evolve forelimbs like that if they reached sauropod level mass.

[@m1kenas]

that's a crazy thought

[@mmcat2863]

Mammals can’t grow that large though (they’d get crushed by their own weight)

[@inescavill8820]

@@mmcat2863 also gestation period

[@Dragrath1]

@@mmcat2863 Yep kind of mind boggling that sauropods like birds and pterosaurs integrated their air sac system into their bones to reduce their weight and thus effectively overcoming the vertebrate weight limits imposed on other tetrapods by the dreaded "square cube law" by hollowing out all the bones that don't need to bear the animals full weight. Ironically while people have the picture that hollowing out their bones made them weak the trussed structure makes them more durable to collapse than the marrow filled bones of mammals which lack protection against buckling. Of course as @Ines Cavill points out the load baring isn't the only limiting factor that prevents mammals from getting bigger internalized gestation kind of is a big limitation as well. Of course that one didn't effect other dinosaurs suggesting that it wasn't the sole factor preventing truly enormous sizes. They could get bigger than the largest mammals on land but no where near the awe inspiring sizes of sauropods particularly the titanosaurs.

[@cliffbooth1620]

Actually the can and they have been that big. Maybe not like the biggest sauropods, but big enough to be as big or even bigger by some medium size sauropods. Look paracetatherium

[@KernowekTim]

I actually found an excellent pre-historic foot print imprinted on a slab of sedimentary rock strata on flat ground at a estuary location. It is in wonderfully good condition considering it's great age. It looks as if the foot-print has a smaller yet identical type of print 'within' the larger indent (perhaps a mother with young following her, 'in tow' ). No claw is evident, only the 'toe pads', centre and 'heel' marks. It was as if I was meant to find it, being as it was one slab of rock amongst tens of thousands of other jumbled rock deposits. It's a beauty of a thing. A treasure to behold, in it's own right. I found it near the coast in deepest West Wales.

[@Treasuretom]

Another fantastic video, and it acts as a good example of the sort of in-depth but still approachable content this channel offers. One thing I would have liked though, would have been a sketch of what you think their feet might have looked like.

[@dtgamerk9670]

5:09 That sounds like calluses, do we have any way of knowing if Dinosaurs could get them?

[@vladimirlagos2688]

This was an awesome video. Sauropod feet are weird, and this is the first video I see that explains them in a way that is understandable to a layman. It reminds me of an equally awesome video I saw recently explaining just how weird horsehoof anatomy really is.

[@dorabrooks76]

Yes, agreed- really well explained, with well chosen diagrams. It's helped solidify my mental image of sauropod foot anatomy after watching videos from _Your Dinosaurs Are Wrong_ . It's almost a miracle when someone sends a sample sauropod toy for them to dissect/correct with _already_ correct feet (as of our current understanding)! Lol

[@honderdzeventien]

I like these vids more cause there's no fuzz in the background Ben. Thanks for this entry. Appreciated.

[@undertow2142]

Thinking out loud. People who are really into dinosaurs should get together with software engineers and create a realistic 3d simulation of the distant past. Then populate with animals and plants modeled based on the most up to date understanding of behavior and physical attributes. Would be super interesting and informative to see how different things interact.

[@younevergofulllibtard4583]

Hey Ben, have you done a video on the history of paleoart? I’d like to see one!

[@cashoe]

This is a great video! Very informative :) well done

[@spencerstrickland5266]

I think everyone has been comfortable for a while now with the fact that dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds and it's become a lot easier to imagine the similarities thanks to modern day paleo art. It's now easier than ever to see some resemblance between therapod dinosaurs and modern birds. But it is SO weird and feels impossible to picture the herbivorous, four-legged dinosaurs, such as the sauropods, ceratopsians, stegosaurians, and ankylosaurians, having any relations to our birds. Am I right?

[@dickiedollop]

wow this was really informative and enjoyable, I’m definitely subscribed 👍🏻

[@rorydonaldson2794]

I'm really glad you've made a video about feet. I've always been curious, most art of dinosaurs gives them rhino or elephant feet

[@scavenger_skeletons]

Having looked into this myself, there are a few issues you didn't really talk about: -their feet, much like their skull, easily separate from the body. -some of their manus and pes bones appear to be cartilage only, but the extent of this is unknown. This creates a bias for preserving elements.

[@BirboBirbums]

Take a closer look at those FEET! I knew sauropod limbs were weird, but those front feet got especially wild in their design! Awesome video!

[@agingerbeard]

This channel is a delight.

[@davepeters4955]

Wow - Great video! I had no idea how weird their feet really were.

[@thesisypheanjournal1271]

The weirder these critters get the more I'm picturing Slartibartfast burying them.

[@jeremiahpratt2492]

Love the more passionate single topic videos!

[@angeliquebarbey8340]

I think that it is clear that sauropods and especially eusauropods were not the defenseless giants that they are often portrayed as being. They had offensive capability other than their giant size as adults although still must have been extremely vulnerable as pre-adults as is commonly understood and therefore needed to grow as fast as they could to avoid being killed before adulthood. I have long remarked the long toenails on what is now explained to me as being on the hind limbs of some sauropods. It is remarkable that the greatest animals to ever walk the Earth were not plantigrade but semi-digitigrade and yet graviportal!

[@thedoruk6324]

That Dromaesaurid Raptor in the Thumbnail having a *terrible* day! So sauropods feet are efficient for defense and *stumping* predators

[@almazzagitov9799]

After watching “The Plague of Madness” you also get to know that sauropod feet are effective in destroying the other members of a herd

[@thedoruk6324]

@@almazzagitov9799 specifically the younger sauropods

[@EveryoneElseIsWeirdImNormal]

And also something very very very VERY important Bragging rights about yer feet size

[@thedoruk6324]

@@EveryoneElseIsWeirdImNormal :|

[@lunagray-wolf2404]

Thank you Ben, My oldest grandsons and granddaughter love your videos ❤️ since they are doing school at home, I've been sending things I know they like, cause granny likes your channel as well😏😁 cheer's

[@buttercxpdraws8101]

Wow, that’s amazing! This channel is so cool, love it 💗

[@akrulla]

How do you not have more subscribers? Great stuff.

[@enyotheios2613]

Wow! Great video! I wanted to be a paleontologist since the original Jurassic Park came out when I was 6 (but life happens), and didn't know about these strange digits. If I make any 3D models of sauropods, this information is invaluable, as accuracy is a pet peeve of mine.

[@naillik1517]

Wait wait wait..... where is your suit gone? How can I focus on the science of your videos if it doesn't come from the mouth of a man wearing a 2 piece suit.

[@onbedoeldekut1515]

Stiff upper lip and all that.

[@Jeron1998UK]

Legend has it this guy can’t blink

[@nmeenle2031]

7:03

[@eckoreckofantasy]

Lizard use tongue to lick eyes

[@therizinosaurus214]

I wonder if the soft tissue described helped in gripping some surfaces, last thing you want is your leg sliding out from when shifting weight to it

[@The_PokeSaurus]

I should get back into paleoart. Sauropods would be a nice start.

[@The_PokeSaurus]

@@PaulElmont-fd1xc Oh thanks.

[@ajayempee]

Ben, I think this is one of my favourite videos.

[@davidgomez-wt7pn]

I had no idea sauropod hands were so weird! Fascinating.

[@LDrosophila]

This is the KZbin content I need. I would have said elephant feet.

[@semaj_5022]

Awesome video! Thank you guys. So interesting.

[@scifieric]

This is a spectacular video! Thank you for the information!

[@benny_lemon5123]

Diplodicoids were rad dudes, confirmed @4:41 👍 😎 👍

[@JAGzilla-ur3lh]

I never really paid any attention to sauropod feet, so this is news to me. Really cool news, actually. Didn't realize how strange and unique they were.