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Questions that don't need their own topics vol.2; New and fresh
Topic Started: Jan 4 2018, 11:18 AM (26,894 Views)
ÐK
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IGGSY
Jan 7 2018, 10:37 AM
Is that confirmed?
The debate has gone back and forth, but the argument that they're points for muscle attachment looks to be more solid, considering things like that they're unevenly spaced apart and appear to be on the internal side of the ulna.
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Nyarlathotep
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Yeah the claim they were on the outside (thus being feather pores) was the result of a typo that got out of hand. The inward pores are consistent with muscles elsewhere in theropods.
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LittleLazyLass
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GreatAuk
Jan 7 2018, 08:19 AM
I have to questions.


How did Birds survive the K-Pg?

Did spinosaurs have feathers?
I gave you a link about how birds survived just upthread.

Personally I disagree with Nyarlathotep on the idea that non-coelurosaurs wouldn't have feathers (in my opinion it's more likely to assume Kulindadromeus, pterosaurs, and coelurosaurs all developed their similar filaments in one evolutionary event as opposed to three seperate ones, although of course future evidence could swing this the other way). I'm also not sure why he's saying "while it could have been because of Tyrannosaurus' size, given it very obviously is because of the existence of Yutyrannus and Dilong. I do, in the end, agree that large spinosaurids would likely have reduced feather coverings, but merely because of their size and lifestyle.
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Inceptis
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The Earth and Moon exchange the former's rotation speed for the latter's outward migration. If the Earth were spinning the opposite direction, would that make the Moon migrate inward?
This was getting fairly big.
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WaterWitch
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since the lack of decomposition is what allowed the high oxygen levels in the Carboniferous, is it impossible to have a point in time again with those levels of oxygen?
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CaledonianWarrior96
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WaterWitch
Jan 9 2018, 08:50 AM
since the lack of decomposition is what allowed the high oxygen levels in the Carboniferous, is it impossible to have a point in time again with those levels of oxygen?
I suppose it could happen again, if you have an extinction severe enough that it wipes out most detrivorous life but some photosynthetic life survives, recovers, evolve into massive oxygen factories (rainforest, taiga etc) and it takes a while for detrivorous life to recover.

Like what happened in Dromeaosaur's Settlers from the Deep, or similar to it at least
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Setaceous Cetacean
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Is it theoretically possible that organisms from two separate kingdoms could convergently evolve fibrous muscles similar to our own? I'm assuming the answer is yes, as muscles are extremely useful if you're not a plant or other organism that needs to be sessile, but I could be wrong. Any thoughts?
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CaledonianWarrior96
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What do we know about the grasping ability of the forelimbs of maniraptorans, such as dromaeosaurs and troodontids
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lamna
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Why do tropical land invertebrates seem able to grow larger than temperate invertebrates?

In the oceans invertebrate size seems unaffected by temperature. Indeed the heaviest living invertebrate was a American lobster caught off Nova Scotia. Temperate climates also seem able to support reasonably large reptiles and amphibians.

My best guess is that in such climates small mammals and birds have more of an advantage, with them both taking up niches and just eating any large invertebrates.
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Another specific one, anyone know where only certain groups of arachnids live in cold climates? Mygalomorph spiders seem restricted to the tropics for the most part (Britain has a single species of Mygalomorph spider, the purseweb spider, to 650+ species of Araneomorphs). Scorpions start to thin out dramatically when you leave the tropics, ending entirely at the 50th parallel north.

Camel spiders seem mostly restricted to deserts, whip spiders and whip scorpions also seem limited to the tropics.
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CaledonianWarrior96
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I think climate may have something to do with invert size but I think it does link more towards birds and mammals surviving better in colder climates and taking over niches that inverts would fulfill in warmer climates. But this isn't the case everywhere; New Zealand has a temperate climate overall and the giant wetas there can reach the size of mice. Even with birds on the island its possible when they arrived in the region that was New Zealand when the wetas evolved they couldn't compete with them in some niches as well so the wetas were able to linger on.

I don't know if humidity has anything to do with invert size in the way oxygen levels can affect arthropod size, but I'd wager a higher humidity could be another factor in larger invert size, unless someone can explain why that's wrong (some input, IGGSY?).

Question of my own; could the Azolla event of the Eocene have occurred in a situation where the K-Pg didn't occur or not?
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IIGSY
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CaledonianWarrior96
Jan 11 2018, 01:30 PM
I think climate may have something to do with invert size but I think it does link more towards birds and mammals surviving better in colder climates and taking over niches that inverts would fulfill in warmer climates. But this isn't the case everywhere; New Zealand has a temperate climate overall and the giant wetas there can reach the size of mice. Even with birds on the island its possible when they arrived in the region that was New Zealand when the wetas evolved they couldn't compete with them in some niches as well so the wetas were able to linger on.

I don't know if humidity has anything to do with invert size in the way oxygen levels can affect arthropod size, but I'd wager a higher humidity could be another factor in larger invert size, unless someone can explain why that's wrong (some input, IGGSY?).

Question of my own; could the Azolla event of the Eocene have occurred in a situation where the K-Pg didn't occur or not?
Moister plays an important role in the size of many arthropods. While it isn't too much of a factor for many insects, it is for others. Myriapods for example are very moisture dependent compared to other arthropods, and that's why the largest millipedes and centipedes live in the tropics. Another example are terrestrial crustaceans such isopods and land crabs.

Though not arthropods, animals such as gastropods, annelids, and velvet worms also rely on environmental moisture and can get bigger with it.


Of course, competition also plays a role, hence wetas exist.
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opeFool
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Has there ever been a tetrapod which has evolved an atrophied limb while retaining its other limbs full-length? If not, is there any reason for this feature to not evolve?
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LittleLazyLass
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Do you mean a singular limb? If you mean a pair, then yes, theropod dinosaurs did that several times.
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Rodlox
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opeFool
Jan 11 2018, 09:26 PM
Has there ever been a tetrapod which has evolved an atrophied limb while retaining its other limbs full-length? If not, is there any reason for this feature to not evolve?
depends how you view Alvaresasaurs(sp)
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opeFool
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I meant a singular limb.
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"My opinions are formed from a perfect blend of science and morality and as such I am an unassailable bastion of absolute truth. All opinions are subjective but mine are objectively the least subjective."
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