Re: MORE "SICKLE" STUFF

[Dennis C Hwang <dchwang@itsa.ucsf.edu>]

On Tue, 30 Sep 1997, Darryl wrote:

> At 09:02 PM 29/09/97 -0700, you wrote:

<snip>

> > But imagine kicking or punching a foe with just one
> >finger or toe.  Even a finger or toe that was big and sharp. You would risk
> >breaking the digit with the force of the blow, which seems like a bad idea.

I would like to interject here that having been struck by a phoenix-eye
fist in kung fu (single foreknuckle used to hit), it hurts one hell of a
lot more than a standard punch, and it didn't seem to cause the striker
any problems.

> >  I suggest that dromaeosaurs kicked with all their toes for cushioning the
> >blow to their own foot and for more impact, and pressed or curled in hard
> >with the tips to pierce at the same time.  I have seen an illustration of a
> >dromaeosaur hanging on the side of a big galloping tenontosaur with all its
> >weight borne by its two big "sickle claws"- the hands merely holding on. 
> >This seems to put an unreasonable amount of strain on those toes,  and if
> >they were so damn important, I hardly think the animal would do that. 
> >
> Nobody is suggesting that they were doing front thrust kicks.  Rather the
> suggestion is that they were "in-fighting"; standing close, holding on, and
> striking.  Remember, they were not just using their toes, but also their
> highly modified musculature to deal the blow.  The kick is not out as much
> as down.

I'd always pictured dromaesaurs as doing exactly that--not unlike the way
cats rake backward with their hindfeet.  I understand fighting buck
rabbits do that too, in order to take advantage of their strongest muscles
working in their strongest direction (thrusting backward).

<snip>

--Dennis
dchwang@itsa.ucsf.edu
xenopathologist at large!
Deathwalker for President:  for some *real* health care reform.