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Re: "PACK-HUNTING" THEROPODS



Brian Franczak wrote (27.3.98):
 
<
3) Slashing claws...
The "killer claw" of _Deinonychus_ is *rounded* on its underside, hardly a
shape conducive to the "razor edge" of the purported "killer claw", since
the keratin would conform to the shape of the bone. In fact, it resembles
nothing so much as a raptor claw, and was just-as-likely used in the same
manner, to hold down prey while the prey was being dispatched. Ken
Carpenter, with whom I had a long discussion about this subject at SVP in
New York in '96, agrees with this assessment.
>
 
Although the "killer claw" was probably originally designed for shinning up "trees", by Utahraptor for example it has grown incredibly thin and bladelike.  The fact that the bone core may not have been sharp doesn't mean it wasn't used for ripping.  Kangaroos and ostriches find their much less specialised claws come in very handy for disembowelling.  Maybe the hide of _D_'s victims was too hard and rough for a sharp keratin edge to be useful, or maybe the keratin was sharp over a blunt bone.  I bet the claw's edge was no blunter than the edge of _D_'s teeth.  They definitely were used for ripping but they were much less blade-like.
 
John V Jackson    jjackson@interalpha.co.uk