Then take a triconodont
:o)
Try holding said cat. When you have
Deinonychus arms (or those of at least any tetanuran, it seems), it
can't escape laterally. I have to do that with great muscular effort because my
hands can move through almost 180° in that direction. In Deinonychus,
this arc was apparently 0°. -- In contrast, Deinonychus can move
its hands dorsoventrally through 190°, while mine alllow something like 45° or
less (it's done between the proximal carpals and radius + ulna, not between the
distal carpals -- 2 of which form the semilunate -- and the proximal ones). This
allows to fold the arms up like wings to get them out of the way during
running, and to extend them very fast if needed. Tyrannosaurus doesn't
have a semilunate (anymore?). Apparently it has totally stiff wrists, with
disc-shaped carpals. Throws away all velocity, but makes it even harder for the
prey to escape. -- "In support of this interpretation, we note the pathology
along the medial side of the humerus in FMNH PR 2081. The site of damage
corresponds to the medial head of the M. triceps humeralis, which serves to
adduct and extend the lower arm. As noted above, the pathology is characteristic
of partial avulsion caused by abnormally high stress loads. Such loads might
occur while clutching a large, struggling animal, such as an adult hadrosaur
(see Carpenter in press)[.] Indeed, the straight shaft of the humerus, as
compared with that of Allosaurus [...], is precisely what is expected for
maximum strength per unit mass [...]. Such conditions occur where the bone
must resist axial compression, as it would do in this case with the powerful M.
biceps (see fig. 9.12). Furthermore, the very low [...] values for the humerus,
ulna, and radius indicate bones selected for ultimate strength or impact
loading. Finally, to ensure that the struggling prey not escape while the mouth
is attempting to kill it, the two ungual claws [sic] point somewhat inward (fig.
9.13C) so that they do not slip out of the prey easily." The fingers are not
immobile but can be flexed strongly.
Ah.
Maybe not :-)
No. And then they threw away dexterity
(finger III) and velocity (length) to concentrate only on brute force. And the
Force was with them :-)
Because by simple lever mechanics this
increases force (at the expense of unnecessary speed). Really get the book.
(Maybe they'll print more next time and make them cheaper if more people buy
it...) University libraries should already have it, no?
The jaws, with thick, strong teeth and
exactly the D-cross-section pmx teeth, should be very good. As I cited, "As with
most extant predators, the mouth was used to grasp the prey. Then the short,
powerful arms were used to grasp or clutch the prey against the body to prevent
its escape while the teeth were disengaged and repeated bites made to kill the
prey."
All extant carnivores that use forelimbs
are quadrupeds that very simply can't afford to reduce forelimb
length. :-) Plus, they can't afford to lose forearm rotation. Closest that might
come among more or less recent carnivores might be Titanis, but the
known forelimb material is not enough to compare
AFAIK.
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