RE: Forelimbs of "Terror Birds"

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@lycos.com>]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2001 13:15:23  
 Williams, Tim wrote:
>Patrick Norton wrote:
>
>>Bob Chandler described some wing bones from _Titanis walleri_ in 1996(?)
>>when he was with the University of Florida.  I don't have the paper in
>>front of me, but I recall that he described the 1st digit as having
>>developed a ball and socket arrangement, with possible grasping
>>capabilities.  He is quoted in other places as saying that he thought
>>the arm was possibly used to hold and manipulate prey.  
> 
>It reminds me of one current suggestion for the mini-forelimbs of
>tyrannosaurids: that they were used to clasp large prey close to the
>predator's chest, after the jaws and feet had subdued the prey.  
>
>There is also Newton's suggestion (not mutually exclusive) that the
>forelimbs were used by males as claspers during copulation.

Although I can't say I know for certain, I think the prey-clasping function of 
tyrannosaurid forelimbs seems the most logical, at least judging by what 
literature is available.  Check out Carpenter and Smith's paper in Mesozoic 
Vertebrate Life.  It's full of some intriguing calculations on the subject.

Steve

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