Re: Mononykus

[Larry <dunn1@idt.net>]

Bettyc wrote:
> 
> Tracy Ford wrote:
> > Mononykus has long legs and had a high body. You
> > need a short neck to keep the head close the the ground and the length
> > of the fore-limbs, both lacking in Mononykus.
> > What was the arm's used for? I don't have a clue, but digging wasn't
> > one of them.
> 
> How would Mononykus' posture compare to that of a ground sloth?  Both
> seem to be upright animals with over-sized claws.  (and you've looked
> closer than I have)

Well, you didn't ask me, but in my humble opinion Mononykus's posture 
was most dissimilar to that of a ground sloth.  From what I remember in 
Natural History, it stood in typical counterbalance therapod dinosaur 
fashion on its hindlegs in that way that we have come to know and love.  
Lacking a long tail, a ground sloth could probably not do this; they had 
very long forearms and could easily "go" quadruped, no?  

Larry