dino news: mummified dinosaur tail found in amber. Has ACTUAL 3D FEATHERY FEATHERS - by Vivian
Tocky on 16/12/2016 at 05:09
What do you suppose the use of such a long tail was if not as a weight rudder? Any prehensile indications?
Muzman on 16/12/2016 at 05:24
Going somewhat tangentially meta for a moment (can you do that? I dunno) that's kinda a thing in science generally, is it not?
You get that dual force of celebrity where if you want to make sure your paper gets published then you go and get a few names for the authors list and, alternately, you sometimes get these massive names and egos who will be aware of any big ticket work going on and will be able to worm their way on there in some form or other (as well as cliquey but genuine collaboration of all sorts)
For an extreme example, I think that was how half (or more) of the authors on Wakefield's original study were on there: he wanted names, they thought it could be something worth getting in on early and -boom- "authorship" (then later they took a closer look and thought better of the whole thing).
It's much more collegial and benign most of the time though, of course.
faetal on 16/12/2016 at 16:51
Quote Posted by Tocky
What do you suppose the use of such a long tail was if not as a weight rudder? Any prehensile indications?
I'm going to quickly hit the buzzer before Vivian answers properly and say "for balance" and hopefully score a point.
Tocky on 17/12/2016 at 02:50
Wouldn't balance in the air be the same as a rudder?
montag on 17/12/2016 at 04:57
Seems like pitch (up/down) would be that critters biggest problem, that wing arrangement seems like it would tend to make every glide path look my bank account balance; plummeting straight down! (and then tumbling out of control) Interesting you mentioned the possibility of that tail being prehensile, my first thought was that if it had a prehensile tail, that arrangement would make a nice "net" to capture flying insects. Catching its prey in a "basket" formed by it's lower limbs would allow easy access to dinner for its upper limbs and mouth. As an actual wing surface for even the most basic of gliding capabilities, this design looks like a total fail. Perhaps this unusual design was arrived at for some other bizarre purpose? (maybe to attract a mate, I'm thinking M.C. Hammer pants, if those could be considered attractive at any point of the earths history) Big thanks to Vivian for this thread, my Bookmarks/Science/Dinos_and_Ect. folder has grow considerably in the last couple of days!
faetal on 17/12/2016 at 21:27
Put it this way - why do many land creatures still have tails? Also, watch carefully what a cheetah's tail does while it is running.
SubJeff on 19/12/2016 at 23:10
Quote Posted by faetal
Put it this way - why do many land creatures still have tails? Also, watch carefully what a cheetah's tail does while it is running.
I think Vivian is the person to tell us. What does a cheetah's tail look like when it runs? Cool? Not as cool as a leopard's, I promise you that.
Vivian on 19/12/2016 at 23:25
Ooh hang on I do know that one, some peeps in my lab did some work on it. They use their tail as an inertial rudder thing, helps them reorient in midair when they're chasing stuff. The flying shavriopteryx might do the same with its long tail, but I would have thought it would just use the flight surfaces? Geckoes do use their tails for adjusting themselves in mid-air though, so it's not out of the question. I'll dig out some links tomorrow.
Nicker on 20/12/2016 at 17:47
This video has some interesting footage of the tail in action, starting around 1:12
[video=youtube;EEyGz9grA5k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEyGz9grA5k[/video]
