Re: Tail fans

[Ronald Orenstein <ornstn@home.com>]

>I think a good tail fan is what is missing from feathered dromaeosaur
>reconstructions. 
>-Nick P.

Well, if the rumours I heard at the Ostrom Symposium are true, we may find
out before long - but bear in mind that dromies have a (derived?) tail
structure - all those stiffening rods, which are not found in Caudipteryx
et al.  They may indeed have had a tail fan, but the skeletal difference
may be enough to make us a little less certain of this.  Unless I am much
mistaken we are still not sure what they used this modified tail for - if
it was in any way used as a weapon, for example (and I am not suggesting it
was!), a tail fan might have been counterproductive.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886
International Wildlife Coalition              Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116
1825 Shady Creek Court                 
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2          mailto:ornstn@home.com