General dimetrodon/sphenacodont talk

[Kane]

3 minutes ago, Still_human said:

You've mentioned the Newtonian theory multiple times--I'll hafta check that out first. Seems very familiar, hopefully it's something I'll suddenly remember from before, when checking it out!

The Principia is a good place to start, but it is heavy. Here is a synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophiæ_Naturalis_Principia_Mathematica

 

Interestingly enough, the bulk of Newton's writing was pseudoscience as he was obsessed with alchemy.  

[Still_human]

Oh you don't hafta tell ME! I'll let you guys know all about edestus and helicoprion too! I think i may just put my money in Microsoft, though. All my earnings from my McDonald's stock money. And I think Ive heard fantastic things about a company called Enron.

oh yeah, DUH, while I'm on my vacation I'll check in on our sailed friends, and solve the greatest mystery of all times, once and for all! 

[Still_human]

3 hours ago, Kane said:

The Principia is a good place to start, but it is heavy. Here is a synopsis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophiæ_Naturalis_Principia_Mathematica

 

Interestingly enough, the bulk of Newton's writing was pseudoscience as he was obsessed with alchemy.  

Wow, now that's really surprising! 

[Still_human]

does anyone know what the deal with Edaphosaurus and the knobs all over its spines are about? Or do they not really know that either?

[ynot]

12 minutes ago, Still_human said:

what the deal with Edaphosaurus and the knobs all over its spines are about?

Predator deterrent or breading ornamentation, take Your pick.

[Still_human]

2 hours ago, ynot said:

Predator deterrent or breading ornamentation, take Your pick.

Is that your thoughts, or did u get that from somewhere? I wouldn't have thought it were either of those, but there isn't really anything that strikes me as being too logical. And of course evolution isn't always logical. It's not really much defense. The sail is probably the least delicious part of them, so that seems like a really weird place to chose for defensive knobs. I can't imagine they would be needed to attach any tissue to.

[ynot]

I am sure I have been told that but can not sight a resource.

Looking at oddities on extant animals they usually (if not always) fit into one of the two.

 

Maybe a sail was an easy point of attack for the competition, until it started looking like a cactus.

 

[Still_human]

I just read something interesting, and now seems obvious, and I'm VERY surprised Ive never seen it addressed before! Aside from there being instances of the Permian sailed beasts having spines broken and healed back into place, meaning there had to be some sort of tissue holding it in place, it seems to me now after just reading it, so clear that if they were bare spines they would have always been breaking off due to just inertia! Dimetrodon spines especially, were not overly sturdy, and if they didn't have something supporting and bracing them, gravity and inertia alone would have them breaking off all the time. Such heavy, strong and apparently fast animals making sudden movements, running, turning, stopping ...that's a lot of force. Roughly swinging, yanking, jerking and jolting around very thin super long unsupported sticks made of bone--that just really doesn't seem very feasible. That's not even to mention strong winds and branches and all sorts of stuff bumping into, and hitting them, including fighting with other huge heavy animals.

I think that's actually the best, most plausible argument for either side, that Ive ever heard. Well, other than "I like them better with skin on their sails".