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Re: dinosaur eyeballs
At 3:13 PM 8/10/95, Cunningham, Betty wrote:
> I was just wondering......
>
> We know how closely the maniraptors and birds are related, but does
> this give us an idea of how soft tissues (other than skin) might have
> looked, such as eyeballs?
>
> I suppose that the therapods and other carnivourous dinosaurs would
> have similar eye-color and construction to birds, especially since
> some evidence of those eyeball-socket-bone-things have been supposed
> for some species. This would mean round pupils for the most part, not
> snake-like or cat-like vertical slits. (as in JP's raptors)
I've always personally favored the look of dinosaur eyeballs as
drawn bird-like -- that is, large, round, slightly protruding all-black
orbs, like one sees in birds. There are whites to the eyes in birds, but
they're hidden by the surrounding flesh.
> What about inner and outer eyelids? Did dinosaurs blink? Did
> dinosaurs blink twice? Snakes don't blink, but they are much more
> primitive a form than a dinosaur is, and the demands on their eyeballs
> aren't as important to a snake's survival as they have developed other
> senses more important than sight (to a snake). Birds (some) have
> inner eyelids for whatever reason. Is this an extremely advanced
> trait? How likely would it be for a dinosaur to have the same needs
> for an inner eyelid as a bird?
Birds blink and crocodilians blink; thus, on both sides of the
dinosaur lineage you have blinkers (left and right! 8-) ), and so I would
assume that dinosaurs blinked, too.
Jerry D. Harris
Schuler Museum of Paleontology
Southern Methodist University
Box 750395
Dallas TX 75275-0395
jdharris@lust.isem.smu.edu
(Compuserve: 73132,3372)
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TITLE OF A REAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER:
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