Re: Oviraptor

["Jaime Headden" <jaemei@hotmail.com>]

<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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