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Extinct Animal Questions
Topic Started: Nov 26 2013, 10:24 PM (193,341 Views)
Acinonyx Jubatus
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Jules
Nov 5 2015, 09:26 AM
Do we know anything about the role of said pycnofibers? Could their purpose be similar to those small barbs and hooks on owl feathers, to enable silent flight?
That is indeed the currently accepted hypothesis, though as far as I know, no detailed study has been done.
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heliosphoros
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Jules
Nov 5 2015, 09:26 AM
Do we know anything about the role of said pycnofibers? Could their purpose be similar to those small barbs and hooks on owl feathers, to enable silent flight?


That's the idea. It's speculated that the wing pycnofibers had the same function as the silencing structures in owl wing feathers.

BossMan, Jake
Nov 5 2015, 11:35 AM
As for larger Pterosaurs I don't think so. I think the Pycnofibers would've been like the short hair of some mammals, keeping the skin (Which may have been sensitive to sunlight) warm/cooled and protected from the Sun. Especially the ones that lived out by the Sea/Ocean


Unlike (most) mammals, pterosaurs have massive wing membranes that could disperse heat, so I doubt even massive pterosaurs had anything less than a thick pelage on their bodies. No need to loose "fur".
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BossMan, Jake
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Son of God

Hypothesis/Question
So in the hell creek we have 2 triceratops species, T. Horridus and T. Prorsus. Horridus has only 4 good specimens compared the the large amount of Prorsus. But could it be possible the two represent the sexes of one animal? My evidence for this is in size and skull shape T. Horridus had a slightly larger frill and longer brow horns compared to T. Prorsus which were smaller. Also the two have been calculated at different weights 15.1 tons vs 12.6 tons (these represent the maxes). Also what if Triceratops lived like elephants. Females and thier young lived in herds while males were solitary. This (if my hypothesis is correct) would explain why so many T. Prorsus have been found next to the near hard to find T. Horridus.
So just curious does this sound like a good question or are there to many variables.
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Furka
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Aren't the two found in different stratas tho ? IIRC Horridus is older.
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BossAggron
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Formerly Dilophoraptor

Triceratops horridus is the direct ancestor of Triceratops prorsus.
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CyborgIguana
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Does that mean Torosaurus may in turn be the ancestor of Triceratops horridus, since it's older than both species IIRC?
Edited by CyborgIguana, Nov 6 2015, 04:24 PM.
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BossAggron
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CyborgIguana
Nov 6 2015, 04:24 PM
Does that mean Torosaurus may in turn be the ancestor of Triceratops horridus, since it's older than both species IIRC?
http://saurian.maxmediacorp.com/?p=551

pretty much as far as we know.
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Paleop
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Paleopterix

where may i find any information on the hell creek therizinosaur? (someone asked me for a source)
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Furka
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I don't know if there's much on it, since it's known only from an astragalus and IIRC I've seen a comment on the Saurian site saying that it might not even be Therizinosaur material, but another bone (forgot which one) from a Tyrannosaur.
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babehunter1324
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Yep that's also the latest info I got on the "Therizinosaurus astragalus" it wasn't actually Therizinosaur material.
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Paleop
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Paleopterix

so any hell creek therisinosaur would be purely hypothetical until an actual fossil is found.....
what about the Alaskan therizinosaur foot prints? are they from the Maastrichian?
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Kaiju Groupie
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There is a cervical (neck bone) attributed to a therizinosaur in the contemporary Scollard Formation of Alberta, Canada.
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TheToastinator
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A piece of toast and a terminator.

What animals lived alongside Mosasaurus hoffmanni?
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

Well, Mosasaurus hoffmannii was more or less global (occurring in European and North American waters, with related species in Japan and New Zealand), so any end-cretaceous marine species would work in your favour.
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BossMan, Jake
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Son of God

Speaking of animals in the Cretaceous seas. Did elasmosaurus or any large plesiosaur live around the European islands around 80 mya?
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