28 Days Of Dinosauria - 12

[swordznsorcery]

Day 12: Hesperonychus dates from about 75 million years ago, in Canada. It was a microraptor, a line of small, birdlike dinosaurs, but quite a bit younger than the others, which have so far been found in much older rocks. Hesperonychus seems to have been very plentiful, and was probably a small, scurrying sort of carnivore. Although some of the other microraptors appear to have been capable of flight, at least to a degree, Hesperonychus probably couldn't. It probably had wings of some kind though, used for balance when running, and perhaps for display.

Comments

[corvidology]

The artists' renditions make it look like a semi-plucked chicken.

[swordznsorcery]

Not an uncommon look for a lot of dinosaurs these days!

[dimity_blue]

It sounds like an emu!

[swordznsorcery]

Not a bad comparison! Because dinosaurs had long, heavy tails that modern birds lack, they had a very different gait. People have actually experimented by attaching long, pretend tails to chickens, believe it or not, to see how it changes their behaviour and appearance, and it does make them very dinosaury. So if you imagine an emu with a long, reptilian tail, you're not far off a lot of dinosaurs! Pheasants are pretty good modern analogues, although obviously their tails are feathers, so lack the weight. If you watch one run though, with its tail stuck straight out behind, it's very dinosaury.