Re: met Novacek- oviraptor questions(mostly)

[achut.reddy@Eng.Sun.COM (Achut Reddy)]

Cunningham@sega.com (Cunningham, Betty) writes:

>they've found an amazing 400 lizard specimens, something like 250 mammal   
>specimens, some ankylosaurids, therapods, Protoceratops, Troodon, and   
>Oviraptor, with lizards being predoment in numbers, then mammals, then   
>Protoceratops.

I think the ankylosaurids are mostly Pinacosaurs in particular.
Currie's expedition found a dozen or so babies caught together
in a sandstorm.  The theropods included Velociraptor, and of course 
Troodon and Oviraptor.  Did Mike specifically mention other theropods?

>question #1-if this was a desert, what molluscs were present?  

Perhaps they ate snails or used the palatal plates to crush
the bones of small mammals.

>Qestion #4- not Oviraptor related- since both Stegasaurs AND Ankylosaurs   
>have tail spikes, are both species' tail spikes "thagomisers" or is that   
>term saved for only one group?

No, only a Stegosaur tail can be referred to as a thagomizer ("thagomiser"
is the British spelling).  Why?  Because poor Thag was killed
by a Stegosaur, not an Ankylosaur.

-----------
Achut Reddy                     If Oviraptor were alive today, it would sue
achut@troodon.isp.net           for libel and slander!