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Could T Rex skeletons have their arms put on backwards?

truethat

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truethat
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
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I'm hoping a biology person can answer this. I've been looking at pictures of featherless chickens and birds, and it's occurred to me that the way a chicken's wings sit are basically upside down compared to a T Rex.

I know for years people have wondered what their little claw arms are doing there. Is it possible that going with the whole "Dragon" concept back in ye old days, they just assumed they were vesitgial arms instead of vestigial wings?

Real scientists please! I'm sure someone else has considered this and dismissed it but I just thought I'd check.


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It has been estimated that a T-Rex arm could curl 430 lbs. That is very very strong. It's no longer thought to be vestigial but rather could have served multiple functions.
 
I was also thinking maybe it had a beak or a snout and could attach things to the arms in a way we wouldn't realize with just the skeleton.

I love how just in my lifetime the picture of a dinosaur has changed. When I was a kid he looked like Gozilla.
 
The arms are positioned correctly on the skeleton.

I've recently read about three modern theories for the arm function.

"Triceratops tipping." This other dinosaur is thought to be a common prey for Tyrannosaurs. They have formidable defensive weapons but if they can be pulled or pushed onto their sides then they have difficulty righting and are suddenly vulnerable to attacks at the neck and belly.

Grasping during mating copulation.

Using the arms to help right themselves after laying down or falling.
 
William Parcher said:
The arms are positioned correctly on the skeleton.

I've recently read about three modern theories for the arm function.

"Triceratops tipping." This other dinosaur is thought to be a common prey for Tyrannosaurs. They have formidable defensive weapons but if they can be pulled or pushed onto their sides then they have difficulty righting and are suddenly vulnerable to attacks at the neck and belly.

Grasping during mating copulation.

Using the arms to help right themselves after laying down or falling.
Click to expand...

Well I am curious if it's possible. I mean are you a biologist and you know this? Your expertise would be helpful if so. I'm not saying you are wrong I was just hoping a professional would chime in.

I think perhaps to us they seem tiny but maybe were way more functional than we thought. I just wondered because I saw the naked chicken pix. (It was a chicken porn site....don't ask ;) )
 
I love the recent trends in dinosaur reconstruction, makes them look less like monsters and more like really bizarre animals.
 
truethat said:
Well I am curious if it's possible. I mean are you a biologist and you know this? Your expertise would be helpful if so. I'm not saying you are wrong I was just hoping a professional would chime in.

I think perhaps to us they seem tiny but maybe were way more functional than we thought. I just wondered because I saw the naked chicken pix. (It was a chicken porn site....don't ask ;) )
Click to expand...
I already said that we previously thought that they had little or no function. We now know more about physiomechanics, muscle placement and strength. Given how strong these arms were and the length of the fingers/claws we try to assign functions.

The credentials of responding posters doesn't matter as the web is full of science and paleontology. You could even do yourself a favor by Googling "Tyrannosaur arms".
 
Ts4EVER said:
I love the recent trends in dinosaur reconstruction, makes them look less like monsters and more like really bizarre animals.
Click to expand...

Dinosaurs were cool when I was a kid, even monochromatic and slow. Now they're just plain awesome.
 
William Parcher said:
I already said that we previously thought that they had little or no function. We now know more about physiomechanics, muscle placement and strength. Given how strong these arms were and the length of the fingers/claws we try to assign functions.

The credentials of responding posters doesn't matter as the web is full of science and paleontology. You could even do yourself a favor by Googling "Tyrannosaur arms".
Click to expand...



I'm not going to "google it" that's why I started this thread. We've "reinvisioned" the dino many times since it first became popular and we've changed it's body structure before.

Like I said when I was a kid they had them standing straight up. Now they are like a topsy turvy balancing out the head with the tail. I just wondered if the socket wouldn't let it bend that way or something. I didn't ask for a dino expert, just a biologist.

If you don't like the thread ....buh bye....stop trying to ruin it for everyone else. Sheesh.


http://listverse.com/2011/02/22/top-10-dinosaurs-that-arent-what-they-were/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_dinosaurs
 
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