Fossils many times are more than bones and we get actual imprints of their whole tail or other parts of them
tall tails
Submitted 6 hours ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/9b3f6d24-c8f4-4f20-b316-517d87308737.jpeg
Comments
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 6 hours ago
I don’t think dinosaurs were taking x-rays of beaver tails, my dude. Go read a book sometime.
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 2 hours ago
Don’t velociraptors have xray vision though?
defaultusername@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 hour ago
That’s why they’re called velociraptors.
Ste41th@lemmy.ml 2 hours ago
Only on weekends
Zexks@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
No. This was created by someone who has no idea how any of this work. Soft tissues leave marks on bones.
sleen@lemmy.zip 13 minutes ago
Soft tissues leave marks on bones
Could you explain how they leave marks?
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 hour ago
Soft tissues can also become fossils under the right conditions. For an example, here is the fossil used for the B. markmitchelli holotype:
volvoxvsmarla@sopuli.xyz 1 hour ago
The articles on that are a fascinating read, thank you!
bytesonbike@discuss.online 3 hours ago
Don’t ruin my dream of fluffy dinosaurs 😭
psx_crab@lemmy.zip 3 hours ago
Too late, i already imagined a flat-tailed T-rex.
snooggums@piefed.world 6 hours ago
So one of the biggest leaps they have made in reconstruction over the last few decades is matching similar bone structure that supports soft tissue. It doesn't work for all soft tissue, but if the beavers tail bones have bumps or other features that hint at supporting extra soft tissue there is a chance.
All the stuff birds have, like inflatable neck sacks and feathers that move with muscles are examples of things we absolutely wouldn't get with fossils that are even better than a beaver tail.
sleen@lemmy.zip 4 minutes ago
I always appreciate an enthusiastic and educational response to situations like this.
GraniteM@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 1 hour ago
The idea of non-avian dinosaurs with the diverse features and behaviors birds have is very fun to me, and I hope depictions of birdsaurs becomes as common as classic dinosaur depictions.
TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip 6 hours ago
I mean… you can see the processes (bony protrusions on the vertebrae) are long and flat and only transverse (sticking out the sides, not up/down) so… it would be pretty obvious it was a flat tail? Sure maybe they might not get that it wasn’t fuzzy without any fossils if it, and maybe they make it slightly less round, but they’re scientists not idiots. Yeah some has come a long way and some older models sucked sure but it ain’t like we are vibe coding their appearance.
Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works 5 hours ago
It’s only obvious because you already know what a beaver looks like.
TowardsTheFuture@lemmy.zip 5 hours ago
I mean, no?
You can see no vertical protrusions of the vertebrae so there’s going to be A: vertical movement as muscles can best attach to pull up/down. And B: a likely flat structural rail with how wide the horizontal protrusions are. C: nothing sharp or heavily weighted at the end so likely not a huge weaponised tail like a thagomizer. So… you’ve got a probably flat tail, than can slam down on stuff.
Now figuring out WHY it was like that would require being able to find fossils around rivers and being able to tell those rivers had dams or something cuz idk how they would figure out exactly how they use their tails but… yeah you can figure the general shape fine based on vertebrae anatomy which leads to (possible)muscle anatomy. Some bones don’t function the way they look and can throw stuff off. Someone else already mentioned stuff like air sacks in birds and such that would really throw off anatomy based on bone and assumed muscular structure from where bones could have attached muscles.
Gullible@sh.itjust.works 5 hours ago
Pretty much. You can factually tell that a lot of something was going on with all of those delicious muscle hooks on such a small frame, but a flat paddle mightn’t be their first thought. Really depends on who sees it first, but they’d eventually get at least close. Just give it a few years of screaming. Yes, both external and internal.
Lussy@hexbear.net 5 hours ago
Sure maybe they might not get that it wasn’t fuzzy without any fossils if it, and maybe they make it slightly less round,
In other words, their depiction would completely different.
blackbrook@mander.xyz 4 hours ago
If you take out the word ‘completely’ you’ve got it.
driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 2 hours ago
They always use mammals for that kind of comparison. Show me a reptile with that kind of muscle/fat composition.
ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 1 hour ago
Penguins?
lengau@midwest.social 44 minutes ago
Birds? You mean the last remaining dinosaurs?
bathing_in_bismuth@sh.itjust.works 3 hours ago
One thing I wouldn’t mind AI to do, train a model with standardised data like this, and have it match the reconstruction. After that it can use common and less common reconstructions. After that try to map as much info from a dinosaur fossil to said standardised data structure and generate possible reconstruction for said dinosaur
Zugyuk@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
latenightnoir@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 hours ago
All dinosaurs had beaver tails, got it!
pennomi@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Sure but also there are some fossils that DO have skin, and some even have preserved organs. And some have feathers, which is a pretty good indicator that there wasn’t some large feature we’re missing.
No doubt we are wrong on lots of counts, but I think we have good evidence for a lot of it as well.
sad_detective_man@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 hours ago
Do beavers enjoy… Uppies??
Thedogdrinkscoffee@lemmy.ca 6 hours ago
What a marvellous time for paleobootyology.
Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 6 hours ago
Now I want to see some pics of dinosaurs with beaver tails
happybadger@hexbear.net 6 hours ago
All dinosaurs looked like beavers of varying sizes and lengths.
aramova@infosec.pub 32 minutes ago
This is some real RFK level science here.