Opisthotonic death pose

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/opisthotonic-death-pose

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the pose designation?Opisthotonic death pose
2. What is the fossil assemblages?Frequently observed in non-avian dinosaurs and early birds
3. Why do dinosaur fossils sometimes look like they are arching backwards?After a dinosaur dies, its muscles and ligaments can dry and pull the body into that shape. Water currents can also push the body into the arch before it is buried.
4. Does the arching pose tell us how the dinosaur died?The pose shows what happened after the animal died, not exactly why it died. A healthy animal could still end up in that pose because of the forces after death.

Taphonomy: The study of the processes of fossilization, from death to discovery.
Etiology: The study of the causes or origins of a condition or disease.
Fluvial: Relating to or found in rivers.
Lacustrine: Relating to or found in lakes.