Re: Dromaeosaur tails and twisting

[Dan Chure <danchure@easilink.com>]

Well for one, long, thin zygopophyses might stiffen a tail but not make 
it stiff.   Could the interpretation of the dromaeosaur tail  as an 
extremely stiff, rod like structure be an over interpretation of  
dinosaur morphology driven by preconceptions about dinosaur 
paleobiology? Heaven forbid !!

Dan

David Krentz wrote:
> D'oh!
>
>   Heres the pic I'm talking about.
> http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/08/dromaeosaur_tails.php
>
>
> On Sep 5, 2008, at 9:59 AM, David Krentz wrote:
>
> >  Can anyone tell me if this tail has a twist in the distal end?  
> > Interesting that there is a s-curve though with all those long rods 
> > "stiffening" the tail.  It seems as though the consensus is that the 
> > fossil is distorted.
> > Generally though, how much twist was there in dinosaur tails?  For 
> > instance, could the tail of a T.rex twisted so that by the end of the 
> > tail the vertabrate have rotated 90 degrees?  What modern lizards are 
> > good analogies for dinosaur tails.  Are dino tails depicted as too 
> > stiff?
> >
> > D
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