Re: W. D. Matthew's _Dinosaurs_

[dinoboygraphics@aol.com]

Dan Pigdon wrote: "The Triceratops and Stegosaurus representations in 
Figure 6 don't look too much different to modern reconstructions (the 
stegosaur's tail was even elevated). It seems they got the diplodocid 
neck postures 'right' as well (so we've recently come full circle!)."

Aaaack!  Granted those are pretty cartoony, but still, they have little 
in common with our modern understanding of dinosaur anatomy.  The 
stegosaur has the short, overly thick neck that results from setting 
the pectoral girdle too far forward on the ribcage (all the dinos in 
Fig. 6 seem to have that problem), the players are in a single row (or 
else perfectly paired set of two rows...both wrong) and the spikes 
are...just not right.  The artist was overly generous with the number 
of claws on the forefoot, and while the tail is indeed off the ground, 
the base of the tail would still have to be painfully dislocated for 
the caudal series to drop that rapidly.

The Triceratops is only marginally better, including a small set of 
thigh muscles that ignore the gigantic illia ceratopsians have.  As for 
the "brontosaur", Kent Stevens would find the back is straighter, so 
while the drooping neck is in accord thematically with his ONP 
findings, it still would be disarticulated at the base of the neck.  
The tail droops impossibly fast at the base as well.

[/soap box]

Scott Hartman
Science Director
Wyoming Dinosaur Center
110 Carter Ranch Rd.
Thermopolis, WY 82443
(800) 455-3466 ext. 230
Cell: (307) 921-8333

www.skeletaldrawing.com



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