Wodering if it was related to oxygen levels in the atmosphere or something else?
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Sauropods we’re pretty much the cows of their day. They lacked the complex system of stomachs that allows modern ruminants to extract decent amounts of nutrition from eating low grade plant matter, so to achieve the same thing they needed an incredibly long gut. A long gut means a large body. A large body needs lots of food to keep it alive, so you have to eat a lot. A long neck allowed a sauropod to graze a wide swathe of vegetation while walking in a straight line which meant they could eat more. The problem with a long neck is that you tip over forward, so add a long tail for counterbalance.
Now you have the basic body plan of a sauropod. Of course they specialised and diversified as life forms are wont to do.
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