Re: Ornithodira, breathing with long necks

["James R. Cunningham" <jrccea@bellsouth.net>]

I missed the first of this conversation, so I may well be out in left field.  If
you  are referring to the possible effect of internal pressurization of hollow
bones to provide hoop ring stress to inhibit buckling and to reduce longitudinal
compressive stresses in the bone walls ,  then I described the effects of
pressurization in my talk on Quetzalcoatlus given at the Knoxville SSA
convention in Februrary, 1999.  However, I'm not familiar with the term 'passive
stay devices', so I don't know if we're talking about the same thing.  Please
elaborate a bit on 'passive stay devices'.

All the best,

Jim

Jerry D. Harris wrote:

> Matt (and others)wrote:
>
> >>"Pressurized cervical, humeral, and femoral air sac diverticula in living
> >>avians function as passive stay devices for their respective extremities
> >>and
> >>some may have had similar functions in saurischian dinosaurs."
>
> >I have never heard this before ?????  However,:
>
>    That's because no one ever noticed it before; it's the gist of Akersten's
> work.  IOW, and to quote Dr. Holtz, "WAIT FOR THE PAPER."  8-P