Hello dear fellow forum members,
I have a question that will hopefully evoke speculative answers.
As I have built models of many aquatic animals from anomalocarids to whales, I thought another creature that would fit into my collection is Kolponomos, sometimes called the oyster bear.
I intend to use a cave bear skeleton toy as a rough basis, adapting it to look like Kolponomos.
But alas, I just found out that nobody knows what they looked like behind the neck.
I always read that there where "some postcranial bones" known and found out just recently that this really means only some cervical vertebrae, one metapodial and one phalangeal bone.
The only source I could find that mentioned the specific bones at all was the one in the picture below.
So here are my two questions:
Is there more recent material?
And if not so, what can the known bits tell us? They are described as somewhat intermediate between Ursids and Pinnipeds, so would it be plausible to assume a slightly reduced hindlimb?
I am prepared to make use of artistic license, but I hope to be as acurate as possible with the little data I have.
Any input is welcome, educated guesses, creative ideas, but most of all feedback from anyone who has some knowledge about this strange beast.
Thanks in advance,
J