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Re: forelimb posture
Before this discussion goes much further, how do you define "minor
sprawl"? "Semi sprawling" is the posture adopted by alligators during
their high walk. Ceratopsians certainly did not do that. On the other
hand, they also didn't have columnar limbs that
were as stock straight as graviportal sauropods or elephants.
Who on the list attended Farlow and Dodson's talk on ceratopsian limb
posture at SVP in NY? Correct me if memory fails, but I believe that
Farlow's exact words towards the conclusion of the talk were: "When we
began this project, I thought the trackways could be reconciled with a
semi-sprawling gait. Well, as you've seen, if yoy play around with the
numbers, you can get an animal that is thinking about being
semi-sprawled." After this, GSP pointed out that the anatomical features
that were cited as being incompatible with an upright ceratopsian posture
could be found in sauropods and stegosaurs, neither of which are thought
to have had any trouble walking upright. Farlow replied that he would
defer that question to his coauthor, and asked Dr. Dodson if he'd like to
answer it, to which he replied "No."
It sounded to me that within the realm of scientific debate, they
were waving the proverbial white flag. Did I miss something?
Scott Hartman