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Re: sickle claws


On Fri, 12 Jan 1996, Nicholas R. Longrich wrote:

>       How exactly is the sickle claw in troodonts different from that 
> of the dromaeosaurs? Is it independently evolved from an unspecialized 
> 2nd digit, or was it independently evolved from a less specialized 
> sickle-claw?
>       nick L.

I know the sickle claw was much smaller in troodonts, but I don't know 
the specifics.  It looks like it started again almost from scratch, 
although several birdlike dinosaurs (_Archaeopteryx_, _Macrophalangia_) 
may well have had partially hyperextensible second toes.

     Nick Pharris