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Dromaeosaur pectoral/shoulder girdle
While on the subject I would wish to make some comments on the idea
dromaeosaurs hung onto their prey.
First of all this theory ( to me at least) makes no sense. Animals that
hold onto thrashing prey today ( lions, tigers, etc. ) have mobile
shoulder and pectoral girdles. Dromaeosaurs lack mobile shoulder and
pectoral girdles. When hanging onto a thrashing animals some " give " is
needed so the forelimbs will not be ripped out of their sockets.
Dromaeosaurs lack any" give"
at all. Their entire shoulder girdle was immobile. It was braced by the
interlocking coracoid and sternum, furcula, and strut-like coracoid.
This condition is strangely like that of birds, animals that use their
forelimbs frequently and for extremely musclary stressful times of
flyng. Dromaeosaurs also had bird-like forelimb muscles. The presense of
a furcula shows dromaeosaurs had a pectoralis muscle, the muscle that
gives the power stroke in flight. The enlarged sternum shows dromaeosaur
had large muscles in tha region ( possibly a site for supracoracoideus
muscle.) If dromaeosaurs were small enough it is possible they could
fly. If dromaeosaurs did move their forelimbs in a flapping motion it
may possible they slashed their prey with their forelimbs. Again I find
this unlikely since there is no claw in this world adapted for slashing,
even the famous "killing claw " of dromaeosaurs. From this evidence I
find it unlikely that dromaeosaurs did anything that they were percieved
from the beginning as doing ( slashing, hanging onto thrashing prey.) A
new way of percieving dromaeosaurs most be made. One where dromaeosaurs
were using their forelimbs in a bird-like manner.
WMattTroutman
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