r/interestingasfuck • u/Odd-Difference-1483 • 18d ago

/r/all Kangaroos are freaking scary.

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u/ExtraChariot541 18d ago

This is a strange way to discover that kangaroos can balance on their tails.

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u/DesertNomad505 18d ago

I can't be the only one suddenly wondering if velociraptors and similar dinos might have used their tails like this, too.

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u/Janderflows 18d ago

Probably not, since Kangaroos have evolved very specific traits on their caudal vertebrae that allow them to do this. So if a dino could do the same, we would be able to tell relatively easily based on their tail structure. Also, kangaroos have a more standing posture, which makes their tails touch the ground. Most biped dinos wouldn't even be able to touch their tails on the ground without crouching, since they have a much more horizontally aligned body, with stiff muscles that held it all together. But if I ever come across a paper discussing the possibility of a kangaroo like dino, you will be the first to know!

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u/MGM-Wonder 17d ago

This is the shit I come to reddit for right here. Even if its bullshit, it sounds factual enough to satisfy my curiosity and move on.

Cheers stranger!

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u/Janderflows 17d ago

It's coming from a biology major that works in a paleo museum, so for my career's sake I hope it isn't bullshit lol. But I'm glad to be of help to fellow redditor doubts.

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u/ddraig-au 17d ago

And as a bonus you get to explain things to an appreciative audience, instead of boring someone rigid at a party

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u/overlyattachedbf 17d ago

I’m a little nerdy but that’s the kinda shit I would like to hear about with a good buzz at parties. I don’t know, better conversation than - how bout them dawgs? 

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u/ddraig-au 17d ago

Oh me too, I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was a kid, I'd love it. But the general public is, on the whole, quite boring

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u/MGM-Wonder 17d ago

Well i'll take your word for it internet stranger. Thanks for that very interesting piece of information