Re: new boook on functional morphology

["Nicholas R. Longrich" <longrich@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>]

On Mon, 22 Jan 1996, JCMcL wrote:

> On Mon, 22 Jan 1996, Ronald Orenstein wrote:
> 
> > What, for instance, was something like Pachyrhinosaurus doing
> > with its strange lump of a horn?
> > --
> > Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886 (home)
> 
> Good question!  And is there anyone out there who knows much about 
> rhinoceros behavior - what is the primary employment of the rhino horn? 
> The only pachy skull I ever saw seemed to have a heavily-vascularized 
> horn lump, perhaps suggesting a since-lost overlay of horn of some 
> significance.  
> Thanks.> 

        As I understand, there are marks on Triceratops frills from other 
Triceratops' horns. So there is evidence of intraspecific combat. As for 
rhinos- I've heard that they can be extremely temperamental and will 
charge and wound animals with their horns. Pachy, though, one would think 
would either be a nose-butter, or perhaps it engaged in shoving matches. 
What I love is the suggestion that pachycephalosaurs butted each other in 
the sides. That's a darn good way to break some ribs. Giraffes do that, 
but the extent of their cranial decoration is the ossicones- hardly the 
well-developed bone crowns on a pachycephalosaur. 

        -Nick L.