Re: Oviraptor

[tlford@ix.netcom.com]

On 03/17/98 17:27:36 you wrote:
>
>It  is quite possible that Protoceratops was a nest robber, too and that the
>fabled fossilized fight with Velociraptor resulted from Velociraptor
>defending its nest. As far as I know there is no material proof that
>Protoceratops was a pure herbivore (only deduction from the shape of its
>teeth). Pure herbivores are in fact quite rare among modern reptiles. On the
>other hand omnivorous reptiles, birds and mammals are common. In recent
>times a taste for meat (and eggs) was discovered among some animals that
>were previously thought were on strict vegetarian diet.
>
This something that I've asked paleontologist for the past few years. I think 
people think that 
just because it was a plant eater it was a passive animal. But I think an 
aggressive Protoceratops 
isn't something that is far fetched. When museum's reconstruct a protoceratops 
they have it's legs 
sprawling. This is far from the truth. Their legs should be directly under 
them. This also means 
they were swifter then orginally thought.

Tracy