Thermopolis Specimeon of Archaeopteryx now on display

[dinoboygraphics@aol.com]

Sorry for the cross-list post, but I thought some DMLers who aren't on 
vrtpaleo may like to know that the Thermopolis Specimen of 
Archaeopteryx is now on display at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center.  I hope 
to see many of you here!

All the best,

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


-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Taylor <mike@indexdata.com>
To: mhabib5@jhmi.edu
Cc: dinosaur@usc.edu
Sent: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 7:43 am
Subject: Re: T. rex was a 'slow-turning plodder'...



Michael Habib writes:
> In modern avians, for example, the skeleton accounts for about the
> same relative proportion of body mass as it does in mammals.  Thus,
> despite having highly pneumatized skeletons and thin-walled bones,
> the lightened bony architecture does not so much reduce the whole
> mass of the animal, but rather allows for the skeleton to be
> expanded without total mass increasing appreciably.

I remember finding this very hard to believe when I first heard it,
but it does seem to be pretty solidly demonstrated by Prange et
al. (1979).

Another amazing fact from that paper (p. 106, citing Brodkorb 1955):
the feathers of a bald eagle weigh nearly two and a half times as much
as its skeleton (677g vs. 272g).

 _/|_    
___________________________________________________________________
/o ) \/  Mike Taylor    <mike@indexdata.com>    
http://www.miketaylor.org.uk
)_v__/\  "Perl is superior to Visual Basic in every way imaginable" --
    Larry Rosler.

References
----------

Brodkorb, Pierce (1955).  Number of feathers and weight of various
systems in a Bald Eagle.  The Wilson Bulletin 67(2):142

Prange, Henry D., John F. Anderson and Hermann Rahn.  1979.  Scaling
of Skeletal Mass to Body Mass in Birds and Mammals.
Am. Nat. 1979. Vol. 113, pp. 103-122.



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