RE: "I don't know; I've never Kippled" (was RE: What is a Dinosaur? and semilunate carpal)

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: Tim Williams [mailto:twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com]
>
> I get the thrust of what your saying: intuitively-derived
> scenarios aren't
> worth a pinch of dingo scat unless they're consistent with
> biomechanical or
> phylogenetic (or biogeographical etc) data.

Bingo!  (or ecological, too, as  you indicated).  Your sentence boils down
my post to its essentials.

> As I understand it,
> the notion
> that constraints placed on maniraptoran forelimb movement by
> successive (and
> cumulative) modifications of the pectoral skeleton possibly had a
> predatory
> purpose have been around for quite a while - and is supported by
> published
> biomechanical and phylogenetic evidence.

And ecomorphological, too.

> >Some thoughts for the day.
>
> One more from me: What's a "Kipple?"
>

Old, old joke.  Guy says to a girl "Do you like Kipling?", to which she
responds "I don't know; I've never Kippled"...

In reference to the "Just-so-story" approach to evolutionary scenarios.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796