Comments on: Stomach Contents Preserve Sinocalliopteryx Snacks

By: Andrea Cau

Andrea Cau — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:43:50 +0000

Mark, right, but since the Sinocalliopteryx holotype lacks only the extreme tip of the tail, that does not affect the length estimate given by Brian (“about 8 feet long”).
Cody, perhaps, confuciusornithid nests were on the ground instead of on trees.

By: Cody Burkett

Cody Burkett — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 07:25:03 +0000

Has anyone considered that it nabbed these guys on the floor because they just fledged? Fledglings are awkward, and fall from trees quite easily, after all.

I’ve seen ground predators eat fledglings, too: coyotes and feral cats, to be specific. I wonder if anyone has checked the amount of ossification with the bird gut contents in question–or if they’ve been too acid-etched to make the attempt.

By: Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 06:13:58 +0000

The holotype is missing the tip of the tail. It’s prob a very small number of caudals and a few cm in length but we don’t know for sure.

Ref: Ji, S., Ji, Q., Lu J., and Yuan, C. (2007)

By: Andrea Cau

Andrea Cau — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 04:16:59 +0000

The first Sinocalliopteryx skeleton is complete: we know its length from snout to tail tip, so Brian’s is correct in quoting its total body length.

By: Vasha

Vasha — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 20:20:10 +0000

Just yesterday you endorsed Dave Hone’s proposal to cite dinosaur lengths from snout to sacrum, and today you say that Sinocalliopteryx was “eight feet long” which I presume is a total length including (possibly unknown) tail. When is anyone going to change their way of speaking? (Personally, I prefer height at the hip as a way of visualizing dinosaur sizes.)