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

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

Larry Dunn wrote:
> 
> Why, with thousands of fossil species to investigate, are we now
> adopting this "surprising intelligence" theory with respect to
> Deinonychus?
 
No, I didn´t mean Deinonychus was suddenly much more intelligent than
the other dinos, I meant it was (or, could have been) one of those rare
pack hunters of it´s time. 

> 
> > Or was pack hunting
> >`invented=B4 by mammals?
> 
> Why is that hard to believe?  Well, what other vertebrate predators do
> it now?  That's a good place to start in answering your question.
> 
Yes, it is possible that mammals were the first to use pack hunting. 

> 
> >> Note that there is no consensus=20
> >> on the use of the digit II claw -- some think it wasn't used for=20
> >> predatory purposes at all.
> >
> >But again, what is the most likely purpose to have such a claw?=20
> 
> Personally, I think in all likelihood predatory, but who knows?  Hard > to
> say.  Is it a "pack-hunting" claw though?  If yes, what makes it so?
> 
Well, it wasn´t necessarily a "pack-hunting" claw but since it was
designed for killing bigger prey than lizards and small mammals (or can
you imagine a Deinonychus climbing up a tree? With it´s stiff tail and
all?) it would have been more effective if Deinonychus hunted in packs.

[{(Monte)}]