Re: Stego/Ankylo limbs

["Nicholas J. Pharris" <pharrinj@PLU.edu>]

On Sun, 4 Feb 1996, Rob Meyerson wrote:

> >Ungulates solve this problem by having their scapulae swing across their=20
> >often rather bulky ribcages.  Like ungulates, ceratopians have no=20
> >clavicles, and this may well have allowed the scapulae to swing, which=20
> >would also increase the reach of the rather short forelimbs.  This was,=20
> >AFAIK, first suggested by Bakker.
> 
> The problem of this senario is that it sounds like the shoulder isn't really=
>  attached to the body (unless the scapula solidly attached to something). =
>  It seems to me that this kind of "soft" attachment would tea the limb off=
>  the body at high stresses/speeds.

The shoulder is, AFAIK, *never* solidly attached to the ribcage.  This 
system works pretty darn well for rhinos, by the way.

> 
> Rob
> 
> ***

Nick Pharris
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
(206)535-8204
PharriNJ@PLU.edu

"If you can't convince them, confuse them." -- Harry S. Truman