Re: B. walkeri neural spines

[Amtoine Grant <ajgrant@eastlink.ca>]

Never though of that. On that note, I wonder how similar bone density & 
weight is between Baryonx & crocodiles. Does anybody know? If it, and 
quite presumably other members of it's family - really DID have 
'crocodile-like' tendencies(lurking/swimming in water), then air sacs 
to help regulate it's 'floatability' in water really does make sense. 
Stranger things in nature have happened - an air sac on your face for 
display when there's so many more conventional methods, it would seem.
I've always wondered about the aquatic abilities of theropods, when you 
think that most all living reptiles seem to swim as naturally as a fish 
when presented with water, and in a 'snakelike', undulating fashion. 
Given that larger-er predatory reptiles today, such as monitor lizards 
& crocodilians, for example, share this trait, naturally theropods, 
which would probably have just a little bit higher drag in water than a 
crocodiles(the larger ones, anyway) would/should have a high probabilty 
of this behaviour as well. We may just be seeing what one, or closely 
related groups(spinosaurs & baryonchids, if you humor the separation) 
who enjoyed the environment more than others, responded. Thoughts?

 On Saturday, June 19, 2004, at 02:42  PM, Steven Coombs wrote:

> I'm not really implying that it did have a structure that was a 
> mammalian analogue. From the paper and some personnal observations, I 
> just see some similarities. I don't think the whole hump idea a very 
> plausible one though, I really think it had a structure that wasn't 
> quite a hump or a sail. Nothing what Dimetrodon or a Bison have. Would 
> it make sense that this structure had air sacs, which would have been 
> able to enflate or deflat? (be good to attract mates, fend off other 
> individuals etc.) Would this be more of a Chameleon analogue then?
>
> Steven Coombs
> *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
> Steven's Dinosaurs: http://www.stevensdinosaurs.com