General Biomechanics and Therizinosaur hips

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

Posted for Martin Baeker.  Note new email address.

Mary

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 10:01:24 +0100 (MET)
From: Martin Baeker <martin@turtle.ifw.ing.tu-bs.de>
Reply-To: Martin Baeker <martin.baeker@tu-bs.de>
To: dinosaur mailing list <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Subject: 

I am looking for books on biomechanics to better understand discussions like 
the recent one on T rex running. Is there anything available where details on 
the relation between dinosaur muscles and bones are discussed? I know the books 
by Alexander and McGowan, but I am looking for something going more into the 
details.

As an example, whenever I look at the hip of a therzinosaur(e.g. 
http://dinosauricon.com/images/therizinosaurid-ma.html),
it has two very peculiar features: The pubis points backwards and joins with 
the ischium, which in itself is
not unusual, but the two are somehow connected by a bridge (however you say 
that in latin) and there is this more or less rectangular hole between them.

And at the front of the illium there is this downward pointing (is that 
ventrally directed?) process, so that on the whole the illium looks as if 
someone with a narrow snout has bitten of a chunk.

Obviously, these fetaures are good for classifying - but probably evolution did 
not want to accomodate plaeontologists by preoducing them. So what are they 
good for?

There are a few similar questions I am wondering about, so if anyone can point 
me to some books etc. where I can start to understand these things, it would 
really make my day.

Martin.


                   Dr. Martin Baeker
                   Institut fuer Werkstoffe
                   Langer Kamp 8
                   38106 Braunschweig
                   Germany
                   Tel.: 00-49-531-391-3073
                   Fax   00-49-531-391-3058
                   e-mail <martin.baeker@tu-bs.de>