tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38902250.post2505160760747788210..comments2023-10-25T04:04:15.348-07:00Comments on When Pigs Fly Returns: How the Turtle Got its ShellZachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08692080707969333711noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38902250.post-77332472323421085032008-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:002008-12-08T09:39:00.000-08:00I heard there was hot and cold running Celeskey. ...I heard there was hot and cold running Celeskey. Where's the tap?Dicing with Dragonshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03132972790091524968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38902250.post-19973848986867093262008-12-07T23:08:00.000-08:002008-12-07T23:08:00.000-08:00For what it's worth, sharks from the Wayao/Falang/...For what it's worth, sharks from the Wayao/Falang/Xiaowa Fm. (whatever you want to call it) tend to be fairly scarce and wimpy (as were Triassic sharks in generally, with a few notable exceptions). There are however, some other nasty fish (<I>Birgeria</I> and <I>Saurichthys</I>) and plenty of other marine reptiles. <BR/><BR/>As long as we're rampantly speculating...I wonder about the relative importance of ventral ossification as ballast vs. protection in turtles and placodonts for that matter....Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10293693723899837239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38902250.post-80559427346197266212008-12-07T20:15:00.000-08:002008-12-07T20:15:00.000-08:00That's the thinking in the Odontochelys paper, too...That's the thinking in the Odontochelys paper, too, actually!Zachary Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05035947146927565746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38902250.post-39232713823783830362008-12-07T20:07:00.000-08:002008-12-07T20:07:00.000-08:00As I'm currenty in the mood for rampant, unsupport...As I'm currenty in the mood for rampant, unsupported speculation, I'll make another observation:<BR/><BR/>Modern great white sharks, which occasionally prey on sea turtles, tend to attack prey from below (most of their prey items breathe air). There is some indirect evidence that Carcharocles megalodon (or Carcharodon, if you prefer), may have fed in a similar fashion on whales (Godfrey and Altman, Jeffersoniana 16, 2005). Large (great white-sized) sharks were contemporaries of Archelon, which retained a large plastron even as the carapace was reduced.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if the large plastron either was retained or developed first in Odontochelys as a defense against sharks or other large predators attacking from below.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com