Re: The absurity, the absurdity (was: WUSSY RAPTORS)

[David Hill <daveyohill@earthlink.net>]

Dear Larry, and reader

Thank you for the response.
I was interested by several points you made.  First of all, I take it that
you are a big "Horner Fan", and I would assume that you believe that
dinosaurs are warm blooded.
        I believe that measurement of the brain size of an animal is not
going far enough to prove anything, I think that the real key to this
puzzle if the size and complexity of the cerebral-lobes. note that if the
preceding is untrue, than dolphins are smarter that humans.  Almost fifty
percent of the dolphins brain-mass is made up of particular glands and the
brain stem.  Humans brain-mass is 81% C.lobe and 19% P.gland and stem. I
believe this research to be rather conclusive.  Ostrich brain-cases are
very narrow due to the large amount of space that eye-sockets take up.  Due
to this narrow brain case, ostrich brain have very small lobes which limit
it's "decision making" capacity.  I assume you get my point.
        If you look at any cast of a dromaeosaur brain, you will see that
it is usually rounded and not as narrow as some of their neighbors.
Troodon's brain is about the size of a tennis-ball and the proportions are
allot alike.
        Now having cleared this up somewhat, let us apply the facts.  I am
not accusing deinonychus to be able to match wits with a wolf our a
mountain-lion, so lets compare it to it's bird relatives.  Macaws are very
smart birds, but they are not challenged by the same problems as a
predatory animal is.  Let's apply these brain powers to a predatory animal.
It is evident that deinonychus had some sort of social structure and that
it was a meat-eater(tenontosaur-eater).
        I believe that you are right about deinonychus catching smaller
mammals and scavenging, but to be as successful as deinonychus, you have to
be prepared to actively hunt for large prey for nutrition.  It's no
coincidence that 3 dead Deinonykes and 1 dead tenontosaur are found
together.  I don't believe that deinonychus killed a tenonto every day, in
fact I believe that it avoided hunting large prey in till it was absolutely
necessary.  Deinonychus probably preyed mainly upon Hipsolophodons and when
in large groups, it preyed upon larger animals.
        Another point of yours that I agree on, is the extent that
deinonychus will go to get food.  I think that it will never knowingly
place another pack member in risk of severe injury, what happened at this
particular quarry was a rare incident where these dienonychus were
surrounded and trampled before they could get free.
        Well, I think I'm making this to long.  If you have any questions,
you're more than welcome to ask me on or off the list.

Sincerely, Noel D. Hill

P.S.


Davey O'

"I've been pushed to the brink of the precipice and dared not to blink"
Mark Heard