Re: tail fans

["Patrick Norton" <ptnorton@email.msn.com>]

>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<

As I understand it, the first half dozen or so caudal vertebrae in dromies
such as _Deinonychus antirrhopus_ were able to move freely side to side and
up and down.  Is there any evidence--or any speculation--about the ability
of such an animal to rotate its tail along the long axis?  This would be an
extremely useful ability if it had a tail fan feathers, since it would allow
the animal to maximize the aerodynamic potential of such a fan by allowing
it to orient the flat surface in any direction; an aerodynamic "paddle" or
sorts.

PTNorton@msn.com
www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/galaxy/1962/