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Re: Oviraptor
<By the way, doesn't it look a bit too much coincidence that its
contemporary Protoceratops also had a pair of peculiar teeth (though of
a different shape) in its upper jaw right behind the beak?>
And isn't it also peculiar that there were so many Proto's about
*Oviraptor* eggs? Of course, I think that's what you're getting at. But
all the books and articles that I've read (not a lot) state that
*Protoceratops* is still a herbivore in spite that most of the eggs have
been moved to a theropod, and disregard's the protoceratopsian's
proximity as a clue to _anything_.
Now, points:
2) egg eater
Still possible ... just because all the eggs are Ovi's, doesn't mean
he didn't eat any. Currie, Godfrey, and Nessov (1993) point out that
the morphology of the skull and mandible are very well suited for
eating eggs.
2) mollusk eater
Jaws not strong enough. While Ovi was able to eat eggs, the jaws
were considered too weak to do so, also according to Currie et al..
Barsbold (1986) proposed this as based on the sculling ability of
the tail---this is possible. Smith (1990 and 1993) refuted this
saying the _hands_ (not mentioning the feet) were ill suited to
swimming...the feet, on the other hand, excellently adapted for the
task. In fact, coupled with a deep, strong tail, long neck, and
large feet, *Oviraptor* would make one of the Dinosauria's best
swimmers, sans birds.
3) plant eater
All extant plant eaters, sans birds, have teeth. Birds (the best
example to use, anyway) eat leaves and other plants by plucking with
long, pointy bills, or shearing with smooth or serrated, thick
bills. No double-curved billed birds (such as falconiforms,
referring to the mandible) are herbivorous.
4) meat eater
The velociraptorine skull in the nest would be a prime canidate for
a meal for babies, as John Sibbick illustrated for the June '96
issue of National Geographic, but there is no other evidence for
predatory habits except the hand is ill suited for anything but
grasping or "seizing" (the maniraptoran character) by twisting
sideways, with large recurved claws that are laterally compressed.
5) plant and meat eater
As both carnivory and herbivory have slight marks in their favor,
omnivory was, of course, tyhe next logical step in theory. Just, no
proof.
6) everything-else eater
Insects and fish are also diets possible for the oviraptors, just no
proof. The jaws are hooked bellow and cupped above, good for
clamping onto something, especially in the little palatine teeth
could grab into the soft innards or flesh. The large claws would be
good at tearing open carapaces or removing scales (perhaps a bit
far-fetched, and the claws were a bit big for that) or would have
been used as prybars for mollusk shells rather than trying to crush
them. I believe some birds do this: gulls and sea otters break them
open with stones, so maybe oviraptors did too.
Jaime A. Headden
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