Re: Deinonychus claws; love 'em or leave 'em

[Jonathon Woolf <jwoolf@erinet.com>]

bruce thompson wrote:
> 
>         Battle between males?  If they had tough enough hides, they could
> have sparred with their hind feet, like kangaroos.  I'm having an image of
> Deinos in a cock-fight.

That's a good thought.  Maybe the claw was used for sexual selection
somehow.

>         Other theropods indeed got on well enough without them, but maybe
> _Deinonychus_ was just that much better equipped.  An analogous situation
> would be sharks.  Hammerheads and bonnet sharks have broad heads, providing
> more surface area for their electrical field sensors.  This enables them,
> presumably, to find hidden prey better by homing in on the natural
> electricity that fish generate. Other sharks manage well enough without the
> extra surface area.  SFAIK, there's no impetus _requiring_ animals to
> evolve every possible advantage.  Maybe some do and some don't.

Maybe hammerheads developed that screwy head-shape by sexual selection
too?  Who knows what a lady shark finds attractive? <g>

-- JSW