tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post3797114990889720318..comments2023-11-05T04:41:29.920-08:00Comments on Dracovenator: A new Beipiaosaurus - beautifull plumage!Adam Yateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03046084686097124394noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-28351676226382636192009-01-19T01:35:00.000-08:002009-01-19T01:35:00.000-08:00Andrew,by all means, I welcome your questionsAndrew,<BR/><BR/>by all means, I welcome your questionsAdam Yateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03046084686097124394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-22825213170058163262009-01-17T22:13:00.000-08:002009-01-17T22:13:00.000-08:00Hi Adam,I'm a blogger virgin, but this new Beipiao...Hi Adam,<BR/>I'm a blogger virgin, but this new Beipiaosaurus is just too exciting! I'm a palaeo-artist in Melbourne, Oz, and am working under the direction of Hailu You on some large paintings of Chinese dino faunas. I went to China with Hailu and Jim Kirkland to see the Jehol biota a few years ago - amazing, although I didn't get to see the Beipiaosaurus holotype, darn it! I'm a zoologist by training, but only broadly knowledgable about dinos, not specifics - cladistic analysis still baffles me, for eg, although I like the approach. I've done dino murals and other artwork for the Melbourne Museum and Monash Uni, and written and illustrated several dino books for kids. I'm pretty serious about my artwork, but often can't find the info I need. Can I sometimes pick your brains for info/theories/speculation/outright guesses? Thanks, Andrew.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-76565878500524539982009-01-15T17:33:00.000-08:002009-01-15T17:33:00.000-08:00That SVP talk did look to be the most interesting ...That SVP talk did look to be the most interesting of the conference. Btw, was the ceratosaur the same thing that had previously been identified as an ornithomimosaur (several overlapping skeletons)?<BR/><BR/>Ceratonykus' spur may be digit I, but that would be an atavism if it was lost at the base of Tetanurae. Maybe that's why the authors question alvarezsaurids' placement within Theropoda. ;) I'd expect it to be a neomorph like modern birds' carpometacarpal spurs (some are bony, right?).Mickey Mortimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08831823442911513851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-69325546790372930872009-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:002009-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00Well, I saw an interesting talk at SVP last year s...Well, I saw an interesting talk at SVP last year suggesting that the theropod hand went from I-II-III to II-III-IV based on a new toothless ceratosaur which seems to show a highly reduced digit I.<BR/><BR/>A friend sent me the Ceratonykus paper (can't read it though) but that spur could be a remnant of that transition...Zachary Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05035947146927565746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-34976368258453173742009-01-15T02:05:00.000-08:002009-01-15T02:05:00.000-08:00I just hope we get a good decriptive paper on the ...I just hope we get a good decriptive paper on the osteology of this specimen. It's the second complete skull and first articulated pectoral area for therizinosaurs, and both on a very basal taxon. I could care less about the feather type. ;) I'm noticing no ossified uncinates and no ossified sterna, which may support a more basal position than oviraptorosaurs, but Pelecanimimus (itself in need of a good description) and alvarezsaurids do have ossified sterna, so hmmm...<BR/><BR/>And no Zach, Ceratonykus is named for its carpometacarpal spurs. Who knows what they are homologous to (if anything), since the paper's in Russian.Mickey Mortimerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08831823442911513851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-76564155245643086722009-01-13T11:35:00.000-08:002009-01-13T11:35:00.000-08:00Ceratonykus? A horned alvarezsaur, perhaps? This i...<I>Ceratonykus</I>? A horned alvarezsaur, perhaps? <BR/><BR/>This is really a beautiful new fossil. I think the quills look quite a bit different than those of the famous <I>Psittacosaurus</I> specimen. For one thing, the parrot lizard's quills are extremely elongate and flexible. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of external integument were present in all ornithodirs.Zachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08692080707969333711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-82193320888731612932009-01-13T10:34:00.000-08:002009-01-13T10:34:00.000-08:00Is it possible they look like pinfeathers because ...Is it possible they look like pinfeathers because they *are* pinfeathers (feathers that have not reached their fully unfurled form)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-46179481854021713222009-01-13T05:27:00.000-08:002009-01-13T05:27:00.000-08:00Mona,I'm a systematist working on dinosaurs and I'...Mona,<BR/><BR/>I'm a systematist working on dinosaurs and I'm having trouble keeping up with the welter of new dinosaurs being published around the world. <BR/>The caption for the figure is in the paper, basically the top image is the new specimen, B, is a close up of its neck region and C is the tail of the holotype. The yellow arrows point to the quills.Adam Yateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03046084686097124394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-53144126974896977292009-01-13T05:15:00.000-08:002009-01-13T05:15:00.000-08:00Nah, These things on Beipiaosaurus aren't collagen...Nah, These things on Beipiaosaurus aren't collagen fibres. 1) they are stiff (look at the yellow arrowed structures in the figure), 2) They project beyond the body, 3) At 2 mm wide I think they are too wide to be collagen fibres.Adam Yateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03046084686097124394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-27494646881557657582009-01-13T04:12:00.000-08:002009-01-13T04:12:00.000-08:00Beautifull plumage ... on sharks, dolphins .... an...Beautifull plumage ... on sharks, dolphins .... and so on. See:<BR/><BR/>http://www.ncsce.org/PDF_files/feathers/Lingham%20paper.pdf<BR/>or try to google:<BR/>http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Theagarten+Lingham-Soliar+collagen+fibres&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3618628476414479312.post-89742652973152503812009-01-13T03:58:00.000-08:002009-01-13T03:58:00.000-08:00Lovely! Thanks for pointing this out. I'm redu...Lovely! Thanks for pointing this out. I'm reduced to buying field guides for dinosaurs because there are too many to keep straight. <BR/><BR/>The feather variation confirms the evolutionary pattern of "branch & prune, branch & prune."<BR/><BR/>Are there labels for the diagrams?Monadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12523329434641725631noreply@blogger.com