Re: [RE: Dinosaur tail dragging]

[archosaur@usa.net]

owner-dinosaur@usc.edu wrote:

Dwight wrote:

An alligator drags its tail, BUT - look at how

> it's body is positioned: very low, in an almost straight pull line with the

> tail AND with the legs sprawled out at the sides.  

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Not to be knit picky, but alligators walk in two different
ways. The sprawled gait that they are usually associated
with is used only for very short distance travel and is
a bad analogue for tail dragging. 

Now when the alligator is walking, it's body is held way
off the ground with the legs held in towards the body ins 
a basically erect fashion. In this position 2/3rds of the tail 
are held off the ground. Plus a fast moving gator will have it's
tail held off the ground.

This is actually true for most lizards too. The tail is 
usually held off the ground when in a run or trot. 

I don't see why it would be too different for certain deinosaurs.
such as theropods. They have their tails on the ground when 
at rest and in the air when moving. This would account for 
the lack of tail impressions in trackways too, since the deinos
are supposedly on the move at that point in time.


Sauropods would of course be a bit of a different case, just due 
to their immense size.

Like I said, sorry to be knit picky, but I just hate it
when crocs are put in a bad light.

Archosaur J.

http://members.tripod.com/~jurassosauridae/index.html

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