Dicraeosaurs

Shunosaurus.

 

    Shunosaurus is a species of Sauropod Dinosaur. Sauropods are notoriously famous for their long necks and tails and giant size, as well as being vegetarians. Fossil remains of Shunosaurus were first discovered in 1977 by students practising excavations at a road bank. The remains were found in the Sichuan Province of China leading to it's name Shunosaurus, "Schu" is an ancient name for Sichuan, so one could say it's name is also Sichuanasaurus.

    Shunosaurus was small as far as Sauropods go, measuring about 31 feet long and weighing about 3.3 tons (estimated). Shunosaurus also had one of the shortest necks of any Sauropod, being not much longer than it's body. The shape of it's head is not fully known since fossil skull remains have all been crushed and disarticulated. Other than the skull, Shunosaurus is one of the best known Dinosaur skeletons with around 94% of it's skeletal anatomy known. Based on it's teeth it was probably a browser due to the robust shape and large crowns, this may also be due to it's short neck.

    Shunosaurus is a seldom mentioned Dinosaur, often overshadowed by the giants that dwarfed it such as Amphicoeilas, Diplodicus or Brachiosaurus. This is unfortunate because it is such a unique species with very interesting characteristics. While it is not a huge Behemoth like other Sauropods, it is one of only a few Sauropod to have defensive ornamentation on it's tail, especially spikes like a Stegosaur. Most Sauropods with spikes or clubs on their tails are from China which is an interesting point.Shunosaurus possessed a tail ending in a club equipped with several spikes. This feature would undoubtedly be used for defense from predators and possibly against rivals as well.

        The unique characteristics of Shunosaurus point the the important question of what it may have been known by to people in the past if the Creation model is correct. According to the Creation model all organisms at one time lived together, meaning Dinosaurs and Humans lived side by side. If humans in China actually lived alongside Dinosaurs and saw them, they would obviously have names for these amazing animals. The historical identity of Dinosaurs such as Shunosaurus may be the creature known as the Dragon. Dragons were in fact a reccuring theme in Chinese art and literature and most people are familiar with the image of the Chinese dragon. Dragons, those huge, often scary reptiles from ancient times seem to have been an important and real animal to the ancient Chinese people. They in fact had to have been real animals since one emperor of China designated the job of Royal Dragon Feeder, and Dragon Breeder to people, putting them in charge of caring for the dragons used to pull the emperor's chariot in special occassions.

   

Based on the physical appearance of Shunosaurus and the fact that it was found in China, it may be that the Chinese dragon know as the "Long". The Chinese dragon is normally shown as a long scaly reptile with a long neck and tail and a fan-like design on the tip of the tail. This design may in fact be an interpretation of Shunosaurus' defensive spiked tail club. Many people accept Dragons to be the mere imagination of ancient people that simply weren't as smart as modern day humans, but this is not at all what history shows. In all myths there is some truth, and while the Chinese dragon most are familiar with may not have existed, it seems as though some large reptiles did live alongside the ancient Chinese and were revered. Most, if not all mythical animals are based on real creatures, and it seems as though Shunosaurus was at least part of the inspiration for the "Long". This is but one of many incidents showing that humans and Dinosaurs coexisted in the past, and possibly present in some areas. Biblical history shows this to be true, and is not only supported, but warranted. The Bible is the most verified text ever written and one has little to no reason not to trust it's content other than a staunch anti-biblical position. The Bible has been repeatedly shown to be accurate and there is no reason to say it doesn't show Dinosaurs alongside mankind.

Amargasaurus.

    An interesting species of Sauropod is Amargasaurus. Few Dinosaurs have such ealborate decoration as Amargasaurus with it's excessively long spikes on it's neck. Amargasaurus means "Bitter Lizard", it is derived from "la Amarga Lizard" since it was discovered in South America, "La Amarga" translates to "Bitter", and Sauros is of course Greek for lizard, that's how we get "Bitter Lizard", or Amargasaurus. Amarga is also the name of the place the fossils were found.

 

    Amargasaurus is a Dicraeosaurid Sauropod type Dinosaur, a group of Sauropods with relatively short necks and identifying neck spines that extend down the back, getting gradually smaller. They are also small by Sauropod standards, around 30 to 40 feet long. Amargasaurus was about 33 feet long and sported two rows of long spines down it's neck, setting it apart from other Sauropods, many of which had spines but were much smaller and were comprised of flesh not bone.

    Amargasaurus is known from only one fossil skeleton, yet it is mostly complete. Some have suggested that the neck spines supported a sail of skin yet it is not widely accepted. It is currently unknown what the large neck spines were used for, some have suggested they could be clamored together to make noise but this seems unlikely. They may ahve been used in mating displays like horns and antlers on todays mammals such as deer. While we may not yet know everything about Amargasaurus it seems quite clear that this wondrous animal offers no support for Evolution, just as all other Dinosaurs. They are all perfectly distinct species with unique adaptations that could only have been bestowed upon them by a loving Creator, not by mere chance over millions of years as some would believe.