Re: The absurdity , the absurdity (was:cooperating theropods?)

[Monte-Cristo <monte@gmx.net>]

Chris Campbell wrote:
> 
> If shark studies indicate they might be as bright as
> some birds (and they do) and bird studies indicate they might be as
> bright as some mammals (presumably not the same birds being used,  > here;
> lots of variety in aves), they the correlation becomes quite suspect.
> How does one respond to an African Grey Parrot who's a bright as a     > chimp
> and has a brain the size of a grape (maybe plum?).  That correlation
> works within a given group, not between them.  Even within a group     > it's
> suspect; see dolphins.  The brain can be constructed in various ways,
> and that impacts how intelligent a species may be.
> 
Yeah, female _Homo Sapiens_ usually has a smaller brain than a male of
that species but they´re often considered to be more intelligent... :)

Larry Dunn wrote:
> My analysis includes 
> all extant vertebrate predators.  This is precisely why I suspect that 
> dromaeosaurs were not pack hunters -- because most extant vertebrate 
> predators are not.

But what if Deinonychus was one of those rare cases? Or was pack hunting
`invented´ by mammals?

> Note that there is no consensus 
> on the use of the digit II claw -- some think it wasn't used for 
> predatory purposes at all.

But again, what is the most likely purpose to have such a claw? 

[{(Monte)}]