Re: Illustrations as research tools

[Danvarner@aol.com]

       In depicting marine reptiles, I've noticed an odd convention that one 
should be alerted to when creating life restorations. In the skeletal 
reconstructions, when the animal is shown in lateral view the paddles are 
nearly always depicted in dorsal view. A notible exception to this is the 
Cryptocleidus in Brown's "The English Upper Jurassic Plesiosauroidea"(1981). 
Carroll reproduces it in _Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution_(1988).  Here 
the foreshortening of the paddles is remarkably well-done and makes for a 
very dynamic and life-like image. I used it.
       Also, a while back there was some discussion about a hook-like 
structure at the tip of Pteranodon's upper jaw. I've just discovered this 
comes from a sketch by Manfred Reichel. The structure in the drawing was 
accompanied by a "?", but was later adapted into illustrations by Reichel and 
others without the "?". Another example of what Andy's talking about. DV