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Hi all!
That new hatchling dinosaur that Luis Rey mentioned with the
aye-aye-like finger and opposable hallux sounds fascinating. It would have
been neat to see it... Anyway, I have some questions about it that hopefully
someone can answer.
First of all, when I was looking through a bird identification
guide the other day, I learned that nightjars and hummingbirds have an elongated
middle toe with a curved claw called a "feather-comb", used for grooming.
I'm also guessing that aye-ayes probably use their elongated finger partly for
combing their fur (in addition to finding and digging out insects). This
made me wonder: could the long finger on the new dinosaur indicate the presence
of some kind of feathery or dinofuzzy integument? (Assuming that none was
preserved, of course; once again, I haven't seen the specimen.)
Second, for those of you who *have* seen the fossil, where
would you reckon it should be classified? I know the paper hasn't been
published yet, and nothing's official, but just a ballpark idea.
Finally, being arboreal, does it sport other adaptations such
as diverging legs or shallow belly? Bear in mind that I don't know how
much of the skeleton was preserved/found.
Thanks in advance!
-Grant
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Grant Harding High school student/amateur paleontologist granth@cyberus.ca Visit Grant Harding's Dinosaur Destination at http://www.cyberus.ca/~sharding/grant/ "Uh oh, Zoot skipped a groove again!" - Floyd Pepper |