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Re: Dinosaur illustrations



>From: endocrin@desktop.com.au (Graeme Worth)
 > 
 > Many books etc contain illustrations of dinos known from only 1 or 2 bones.
 > Leaving aside the often considerable artistic talent exhibited, do these
 > really contribute anything useful? What should be the minimum skeletal
 > material required before an artist gets a crack at it?
 > Any comments?
 > 
This does not have a simple answer.  A single sauropod pelvis (with
sacral vetebrae) can tell you almost everything about its general
appearance and size, since all sauropods follow a very similar body
plan, and the pelvis and vertebrae are generally diagnostic in
combination. On the other hand, a similar set of bones from a
hadrosaur tells you almost nothing, since hadrosaurs differ mostly
in the skull. Of course this means a skull is generally sufficient
to determine the appearance (and size) of a hadrosaur!

In short, it depends on the group and the particular bone(s) known.

swf@elsegundoca.attgis.com              sarima@netcom.com

The peace of God be with you.