Re: Parasaurolophus neck/head flap.

["Jaime Headden" <jaemei@hotmail.com>]

>>I'll say that I've suspected something of the sort. I've drawn a >>few 
hadrosaurids with dewlaps -- this based on the very thin neck >>and the 
propensity at body parts with some visual modifications. A >>thin neck 
like that just looked like a bovine's or bird's neck, and >>both groups 
sprout dewlaps and/or wattles. Chickens've got this >>formation on their 
heads, too, and turkeys sprout them from the >>beak. I may be reaching 
though.

>I am not sure I agree with your assertion that birds have thick 
>necks. Most or all birds so a reduction in the cervical musclature.

I didn't say birds have thick necks. Refer above to see what I actually 
said.

Below I've illustrated in real basic ascii the structure in a bovine's 
neck. One can quite easily supplant "bovine" with "hadro- saur", and the 
illustration would hardly change. I removed the pectoral girdle for less 
complicated maneuvering of my little "pic".

                dorsal spines, supporting neck muscles and tendon
       tendon ____  /
_____    /  _/||||\
  |\ \_____//|||||||||\...
__/\\_     |/-----------
    \_\___/ /\\\\\\\\\\
  \   \____/\\\\\\\\\\\
   \         \\\\\\\\\   ----ribs
  skull  \     \\\\\
          \
         cervical vertebrae

Ask, and I'll send a better illustrated model of both animals compared 
to each other, and the tendon isolated. Oh, and wasn't there another 
post on this subject? I believe someone gave the name for this tendon, 
but I can't remember it.

Jaime A. Headden

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