Comments on: Dyno-nychus http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/ The institutionalized doodles and discoveries of a dead-animal designer. Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:55:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Pascal http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/comment-page-1/#comment-11003 Pascal Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:36:23 +0000 http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/#comment-11003 Great graphic! I'd love to see more 3/4 skulls in this graphic style. Perhaps serving as a basis for site organization/navigation. I've been investigating ways to use this kind of visual grouping in my undergraduate dinosaur class to organize semester topics. Great graphic! I’d love to see more 3/4 skulls in this graphic style. Perhaps serving as a basis for site organization/navigation. I’ve been investigating ways to use this kind of visual grouping in my undergraduate dinosaur class to organize semester topics.

]]> By: Mark Mancini http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/comment-page-1/#comment-11001 Mark Mancini Tue, 30 Oct 2007 23:29:17 +0000 http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/#comment-11001 Great job Matt (as allways)! You should consider putting this up for sale in the Paleo pop-shop, as I for one would pay big money to put this on my car! Great job Matt (as allways)! You should consider putting this up for sale in the Paleo pop-shop, as I for one would pay big money to put this on my car!

]]> By: Zach Miller http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/comment-page-1/#comment-11000 Zach Miller Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:03:27 +0000 http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/#comment-11000 It IS incredibly fragile. It also seems to have disappeared in several archosaur groups. It's usually found among theropods, but a few basal ornithopod rings have been recovered, and Psittacosaurus had 'em. I think one of Cope's articulated "Monoclonius" skeletons had a sclerotic ring, but I'm too lazy to dig through my archives right now. I'm not sure whether pachycephalosaurs and thyreophorans had rings, though. Modern crocodiles have lost the sclerotic ring, but lots of ancient crurotarsians had them. Of course, due to their fragility, there's likely a strong preservation bias against them, so they may be more widespread than I let on. It IS incredibly fragile. It also seems to have disappeared in several archosaur groups. It’s usually found among theropods, but a few basal ornithopod rings have been recovered, and Psittacosaurus had ‘em. I think one of Cope’s articulated “Monoclonius” skeletons had a sclerotic ring, but I’m too lazy to dig through my archives right now. I’m not sure whether pachycephalosaurs and thyreophorans had rings, though. Modern crocodiles have lost the sclerotic ring, but lots of ancient crurotarsians had them.

Of course, due to their fragility, there’s likely a strong preservation bias against them, so they may be more widespread than I let on.

]]> By: Ian http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/comment-page-1/#comment-10999 Ian Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:42:09 +0000 http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/#comment-10999 Thanks for the info. I vaguely remember hearing about the sclerotic ring, now, but I don't think I ever knew what it did. It looks incredibly fragile. Have dinosaurian examples really been recovered? Thanks for the info. I vaguely remember hearing about the sclerotic ring, now, but I don’t think I ever knew what it did.

It looks incredibly fragile. Have dinosaurian examples really been recovered?

]]> By: Zach Miller http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/comment-page-1/#comment-10998 Zach Miller Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:52:27 +0000 http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/#comment-10998 Holy crap! Awesome! That should be the new site logo skull, Matt. Ian, that's the sclerotic ring. The ring is "cupped," and the eyeball sits atop it. It's purpose is (in modern birds, at least) to focus the eye. While mammals focus the eye with muscular action, archosaurs seem to do things the old-fashioned way: muscles are attached to the ring, not the eye, and collapsing or expanding the ring focuses the eye. At least, that's how it was explained to me. Holy crap! Awesome! That should be the new site logo skull, Matt.

Ian, that’s the sclerotic ring. The ring is “cupped,” and the eyeball sits atop it. It’s purpose is (in modern birds, at least) to focus the eye. While mammals focus the eye with muscular action, archosaurs seem to do things the old-fashioned way: muscles are attached to the ring, not the eye, and collapsing or expanding the ring focuses the eye.

At least, that’s how it was explained to me.

]]> By: Ian http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/comment-page-1/#comment-10997 Ian Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:56:48 +0000 http://www.hmnh.org/archives/2007/10/30/dyno-nychus/#comment-10997 What's the floating eye ring sort of thing? Is that bone? How does it fit in with the eye and the underlying tissues? What’s the floating eye ring sort of thing? Is that bone? How does it fit in with the eye and the underlying tissues?

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