Re: New dinosaurs Ahshislepelta, Amtocephale, pterosaur Navajodactylus and more pdfs

[Denver Fowler <df9465@yahoo.co.uk>]

When I saw this specimen sat in Harrisburg, fully prepped, it just blew my mind 
(well... briefly). A really intriguing and unique pathology. I wonder whether 
it 
can teach us anything new about hindlimb/pelvic myology. Cool stuff.

<Citation>
R. M. Sullivan, S. G. Lucas, S. E. Jasinski and D. H. 
Tanke (2011). 
An unusual neural spine osteopathy of a chasmosaurine 
(Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) from the Upper Cretaceous 
Kirtland Formation (Hunter Wash Member), San Juan Basin, 
New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and 
Science Bulletin 53:484-488. 
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/173.Sullivan_et_
al__Chasmosaurine_osteo__COLOR.pdf

An unusual paleopathology, in the form of an irregular-
shaped bony plate that is fused to, and is part of, the 
fused neural spine complex, is the first of its kind to 
be described for a ceratopsid dinosaur. This pathology is 
a bony mass composed of a network of fused ossified 
tendons and secondary bone deposited in a rather thin 
plate that extends out from the neural spine centered 
over the 5th  and 6th sacral vertebrae. The etiology of 
this unusual pathology is unknown. We interpret this 
paleopathology as the possible result of a bite, or bites,
to the back of the chasmosaurine, although there is no 
direct evidence of this. The plate is inferred to have 
been within the compact dermal layer of the 
chasmosaurine’s sacrum.



 ----------------------------------
Denver Fowler
df9465@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.denverfowler.com
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