Re: Pygostyle-like structure from Beipiaosaurus

[Ronald Orenstein <ornstn@rogers.com>]

At 07:42 PM 12/10/03 -0400, Nicholas Gardner wrote:
> Pygostyle was previously considered as a unique structure of 
> ornithothoracine birds, used to maneuver tail feathers.  A similiar 
> structure from an oviraptorosaurian dinosaur was considered functionally 
> associated with the retrices as in birds.  We report a pygostyle structure 
> from a therizinosauroid dinosaur.  The presence of filamentous 
> integuments, but absence of retrices, on the tail of this 
> therizinosauroid, combined with other lines of evidence, suggests that the 
> initial function of the pygostyle was not related to the retrices.

Undoubtedly this will fuel the idea that these critters are secondarily 
flightless birds (which will mean, I suppose, that Feduccia et al will 
argue that therizinosaurids are not dinosaurs).


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Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
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