Re: [Re: The absurdity, the absurdity (was: Cooperating theropods?)]

[archosaur@usa.net]

owner-dinosaur@usc.edu wrote:
> Chris Campbell wrote: (replying to Betty Cunningham>
> 
> >Naturally.  That's beside the point.  I'm talking about brains and
> >coordination between predators, nothing more.  If we're going to charge
> >Deinonychus with being too stupid to function in packs, animals with
> >less brain material who do so are a good counter-example.
> 
> Sharks are of coure not pack hunters, so their lack of any intelligence 
> is not dispositive here.

I have to disagree here. Most sharks aren't. Some school and there have been 
studies showing that sharks, regardless of their brainsize have an intelligence 
as high as many birds. Now if birds can hunt in effective packs then so can 
sharks (they just seem not to prefer it) and so could Deinonychus. There were 
even studies done that showed that smaller brains were very effective indeed.

 
> >> With sharks, they bite something till they're fed, the thing may or 
> may
> >> not die by the time the shark begins digesting.  And this tactic is 
> the
> >> same whether it is one shark by itself or many sharks.
> >
> >True, but not what I'm talking about.
> 
> Why, sure it is.  Is the behavior Betty described the behavior of a 
> *pack hunter*?
> 
> >> With lions and hyenas and dogs it's much more a testing measure of
> >> whether this hunting group is ready to confront that prey group or
> >> individual prey animal.  The animals seem to need reassurance they 
> have
> >> good chances of winning a confontation before they confront.
> >
> >Right, but also beside the point.
> 
> Why's that?  You think a shark is worried about attacking a mackeral?  I 
> doubt it.  But why *doesn't* something even as stupid as a shark attack 
> a whale?  Why don't a "pack" of sharks?

Because contrary to popular belief, sharks aren't stupid. 

That's as far as I go into this thread. My only thought on the Deinonychus vs. 
Tenontosaurus bit is that maybe it was a fluke.
A pack of Deinonychus come down to eat a dead (or dying) Tenontosaur in a bad 
part of town.

Wouldn't have gotten involved, but the stupid shark view had to go.

Archosaur J


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