Re: Triassic dinosaur evolution

[Michael Habib <mhabib5@jhmi.edu>]

> Then could someone please pass this on to all the paleo artists out 
> there? I've grown so tired of seeing drawings of theropods with 
> completely serviceable forelimbs, just tucking them away like they 
> were just featherless, non-functional wings.

Fair enough, but what counts as "serviceable"?  If you're thinking of 
maniraptorans, then I absolutely agree.  However, there is a strange 
pattern that many (if not most) non-maniraptoran theropods with robust 
forelimbs still can't reach out in front of their mouths, making the 
forelimbs rather unavailable in prey capture.  Allosaurids, for 
example, have robust, powerful arms - but the length is still quite 
short in comparison to the total length of the cervical series and 
head, so the jaws would contact food well before the arms ever got 
close.  That doesn't make the forelimbs useless, but it appears to make 
them rather unimportant for prey acquisition.

Cheers,

--Mike H.


Michael Habib, M.S.
PhD. Candidate
Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
1830 E. Monument Street
Baltimore, MD 21205
(443) 280 0181
habib@jhmi.edu