Re: Struthiomimus Exhibit

["David Elliott" <dalelemu@hotmail.com>]

hi all,

> No joint is apparent
> distinguishing the distal ends of the radius and ulna from the metacarpals,
> nor is there (at least as viewed in the web page) any sign of a pteroid 
> bone
> or of a propatagium.

I disagree; if you look at the first photograph, towards the more proximal 
part of the wing, there's a rectangular shadow across a section of the 
patagium. It looks like the humerus is bent back into the plane of the 
photograph, then the radius/ulna is bent forward towards us (and is 
contained in the shadow), and the metacarpals are bent up at an angle from 
the radius/ulna.

And the elbow points back across and inside the bronze area of thw wing, so 
the propatagium is shown. You can see a slightly folded area (it looks a 
little crumpled on first glance) proximal from the wrist joint, which is 
presumably the leading edge of the propatagium. It looks like the 
propatagium is folded in accordance with the elbow joint, and presumably the 
pteroid would be the thing making it look more like a fold than a crumple.

> one sees things resembling a
> structural members (they do not look like simple buckling of the wing
> membrane), as if the artist were trying to pattern the pterosaur wings 
> after
> those of a bat (albeit incorrectly even for a bat).

Hmmm, i think the sculpter was trying to show actinofibrils in the wing, and 
those bigger more heavily defined ones that i guess you're referring too are 
just buckling patterns in the wing that've been *guided* by the fibres. The 
fourth digit seems to be bent up along a different plane from the 
metacarpals, so this would fold the corresponding section of wing upwards as 
well, and the structural member is just a fibre that happens to accentuate 
the folding at that point. Ditto for the folded bit further down, at the 
edge of the shadowed section of wing. Anyway, thats what it looks like to 
me.

Agree that it's a pretty neat peice of work regardless.

david elliott

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