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brickhead wrote:
> There is no indication at all that a Triceratops or Stegosaurus would have
> had differently coloured legs. Extrapolating from recent species it is most
> likely that they were unicoloured.
just because I'm feeling combatative, I figured I'd challenge you on this ...
what recent species are you extrapolating from? Many many reptiles and
amphibians display massive variation in their coloration: lizards tend to have
lighter underbellies and, and in some this extends to their legs as well. And
of course, there are vibrantly colored examples of all of these; consider the
Gila Monster and Arrow Frogs, for examples of each which can have variations in
color across their bodies. Obviously, mammals are the same way; all manner of
dogs, cats, zebras/horses, etc can have boldly contrasting areas on their body,
and in many cases these are typical, not exceptions (and not just on the fur -
shave a brindle greyhound, and you have a striped bald dog - the coloration can
derive from the pigmentation of the skin beneath). Same with birds, fish,
insects ... Point is, there's no indication at *all*, eitehr way. It's all
conjecture.
> > On the other hand, the established theory is that birds evolve from • theropods.
> > Since some birds do have feet in orange, why not dinosaurs?
>
> Because some birds have a selective advantage because of orange feet (stir
> up animals they feed on etc.). I cannot think of a selective advantage a
> herbivore elephant-sized animal could have with orange feet....
Well, attracting a mate, for another example ... peacocks, for example. To warn
off predators is another reason - many foul-tasting or poisonous (poisonous to
eat, that is) animals can get away with being brightly colored or having
brightly colored patches since they *want* to be recognized as not being one of
their tasty brethren (caterpillars and frogs come to mind) - and predators leave
them be, having learned that they are bad news. Or it could just be that they
tended to coat their lower legs with a clay-like mud in order to deter biting
insects, much the way pigs and hippos will - repeated applications could dye the
skin. There are lots of reasons why they might have developed brightly colored
feet ...
Though I'm not saying they did. And I personally don't really dig the
appearance of the brightly colored LEGO-dino legs ... but I took umbrage to the
aurthoratitive claims ;)
for good or for bad, I remain ...
-s
FUT .off-topic.debate
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Dinosaur Color Scheme
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| (...) The biggest terrestic sauropsid species today is the Komodo Dragon...... (...) the (...) variations in (...) Yes, because it is a selective advantage for poisonous animals to let their possible predators know that they are poisonous.... I (...) (24 years ago, 27-Jul-00, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Dinosaur Color Scheme
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| (...) gray or (...) There is no indication at all that a Triceratops or Stegosaurus would have had differently coloured legs. Extrapolating from recent species it is most likely that they were unicoloured. (...) theropods. (...) Because some birds (...) (24 years ago, 26-Jul-00, to lugnet.adventurers)
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