An Oviraptorosaurid Tail

[Isotelus]

A new, fantastic paper was published today on the morphology and function of Oviraptorosaurs tails, which differ considerably from those of other theropod dinosaurs. The article suggests that their flexible tails, which ended in a fan of feathers, were used as display mechanisms during intraspecific interactions.

Now, there are three reasons why I'm posting on this paper. One, it's public access: Mmmm....Sauce!. Two: The paper demonstrates very well what fossils can tell us about the behaviours of extinct taxa. Three: Shameless self-promotion! I was commissioned by the main author to do a life reconstruction of a male Ingenia yanshini (an Oviraptorid from late Cretaceous Mongolia) displaying for a curious female. The illustration is in several news reports, but I posted a larger size version on my art page here, with a brief description of the drawing itself.

Enjoy

 

[televator]

Oviraptorosaur caudal osteology is unique among theropods and is characterized by posteriorly persistent and exceptionally wide transverse processes, anteroposteriorly short centra, and a high degree of flexibility across the pre-pygostyle vertebral series.

I - I don't know what I'm reading.

For what it's worth though, I love feathered dinos. They're the coolest.

 

[Isotelus]

Oviraptorosaur caudal osteology is unique among theropods and is characterized by posteriorly persistent and exceptionally wide transverse processes, anteroposteriorly short centra, and a high degree of flexibility across the pre-pygostyle vertebral series.

I - I don't know what I'm reading.

For what it's worth though, I love feathered dinos. They're the coolest.

In dinosaurs, 'caudal' refers to the tail vertebrae. Transverse processes are bony protrusions on the sides of a vertebra which serve as ligament and muscle attachment points. In the case of Oviraptorosaurids, they point away from the animal or towards the back end, to put it less elegantly, and are very wide, which you can see better if you're looking down at the top of the vertebra (i.e., 'dorsal' view). The centrum (centra is plural) is the main part or body of a vertebra and is circular in shape. Looking at Oviraptorosaurid centra from the side, you'll see they're shorter in a front-to-back direction than those of other theropods. The pygostyle is a bunch of caudal vertebrae fused together at the very tip of the tail and is where the tail feathers attach both in Oviraptorosaurids and modern birds. So, pre-pygostyle is referring to the unfused vertebrae directly in front of the pygostyle itself. There are a number of figures towards the end of the paper that give you a visual perspective on all the anatomical descriptive writing.

Hopefully that made some sense!

And yes, definitely. What's so great is that new stuff keeps on popping up yearly.

 

[televator]

Thanks for that! I also suppose the behavior/function part of it can't be as esoteric, which is what I as a layman find initially more interesting. I'll check out the PDF.

 

[Isotelus]

Thanks for that! I also suppose the behavior/function part of it can't be as esoteric, which is what I as a layman find initially more interesting. I'll check out the PDF.

This is very true. Papers with those sorts of topics tend to be highly publicized, especially if they're about dinosaurs. Given my chosen career path, I've had to learn the more nitty gritty anatomy stuff. I just read hoards of papers with a dictionary of anatomical terms at hand, and there's still plenty more to learn. I think the figures in the pdf will be very helpful, especially those that reconstruct the musculature.

 

[CosmicJoghurt]

I'm ignorant when it comes to oviraptorosaurid tails specifically, I'm more of an expert on.. uh...

Yeah, I don't care much about this, due to the fact that it's not a branch of science I'm at all interested in.

I must say, though that's, some cool drawing you have there. Like, really good drawing. That's more palpable to laypeople like me.

 

[Isotelus]

Thanks very much! I would say life reconstructions accompanying paleontology papers is pretty much essential, especially if they are being published in the general media. As you say, it makes it more real and believable. Come to think of it, I really havn't drawn anything that isn't extinct in months....