Re: semilunate carpal

[TomHopp@aol.com]

Having seen the Velociraptor vs Protoceratops fossil (somewhere - maybe at 
Dinofest 98?) I'll chime in. The velociraptor was pushing away. I got the 
distinct impresson the Velociraptor was in trouble, the fatal variety. Let's 
not forget that some modern herbivores use a biting defense - boars and 
warthogs being particularly apt and deadly examples. Furthermore, the 
Velociraptor's toe claw was set deep in the throat of the Protoceratops, 
right about where the carotid artery runs. But the wrist in the 
Protoceratops' mouth was pinned by both the beak and the small fangs - the 
chances its arteries weren't cut were very slim. The animals seemed to me to 
have bled to death simultaneously, with a sand storm raging around them.

PS I'm not a big fan of the "predatory stroke" hypothesis, having read all of 
Ostrom's papers (he started the concept and now disavows it). As others have 
said, if manipulating prey by hand is important, why limit the hand's ability 
to adopt various angles and flexions? There is a much more cogent reason for 
making a rigid wrist, as I have mentioned before . . .

Thomas P. Hopp
Author of DINOSAUR WARS, a science fiction novel published by iUniverse
Now Humans are the Endangered Species!  http://members.aol.com/dinosaurwars