Re: Alvarezsaurid arms was Re: JFC-Bloodiest Battle ??

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Quoting Dan Chure <danchure@easilink.com>:

> Then again, maybe they are used in locomotion.  They could  function 
> like a tree surgeon's boot spike to hold onto the bark of trees while 
> climbing. 

Maybe - but these strike me as having been *very* cursorial creatures. Most 
creatures that use their 
forelimbs to climb have relatively long arms, with multiple claws and a much 
greater range of motion 
than Alvarezsaurs appear to have been capable of.

Perhaps if they had a scent gland on their chest, such a close tree-hug would 
be useful to smear it onto 
trees to mark territory. But now we're getting even further into the realms of 
speculation.


> Dann Pigdon wrote:
> > There is of course always the possibility that Alvarezsaur forelimbs
> weren't used for feeding 
> > behaviours at all. It's possible they were used primarily for intraspecific
> wrestling matches, like an 
> > archosaurian kangaroo. 

-- 
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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist              http://geo_cities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia             http://heretichides.soffiles.com
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