Moa dragon feet

Yeah, I know it's an awful pun, but I couldn't resist it.  I talked about how my dragon project's feet were based on raptor feet before, but of course we only have bones to go on with raptors.  I based the soft tissue of the feet on moa (Megalapteryx) feet.  There are a few mummified moa foot specimens, so I had a good look at the soft tissue on those. 


Picture from Wikipedia

The moa didn't have the big "killing claw" seen on dromaeosaurids, and which I used for my dragon, but it does have quite a similar structure.  There are four toes, one of which is positioned like a dew claw, and the foot has a pad of tissue to help the animal walk.  Here's another mummified moa leg, though it isn't in as good condition as the last one:


Picture from The Tyrannosaur Chronicles

See how the skin on the ankle has that great pebbly texture?  Expect to see similar textures on my dragon legs when they're finished.  And how is the dragon doing so far?  Well, the legs are in place and I've given the claws a coat of paint.  Now I just need to make a tail and apply some nice skin texture.






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