The
idea has NOT been dismissed. Rather, it has been pointed out that, as
yet, we have no *POSITIVE EVIDENCE* for such a behavior.
Sure, they could have done it. No
problem. That's not the point.
The
point is whether we have any direct evidence to say that it was so.
Trikes could well have hooted and holler at each other to keep track of the
herd at long distance; their hoots could have gone "hooot hooot hooot HOOT!";
but we cannot establish that this was in fact the case.
Furthermore, the Hallet version is
very specific, and modelled directly after the modern musk ox. Few
large horned animals have this particular behavior, and yet because the Hallet
picture was so good it became accepted as The Truth.
There IS some evidence that Trikes lived in
groups (new discoveries from the Denver region); and it makes sense that they
could have employed their powerful heads in a group ring defense.
However, testing whether that particular behavior was used is currently (and
perhaps eternally) beyond the ability of science, as is (sadly) a lot of
questions about Mesozoic dinosaur behavior.
Thomas R. Holtz,
Jr.
Vertebrate
Paleontologist
Department of Geology
Director, Earth, Life & Time
Program
University of Maryland
College Park
Scholars
College Park, MD
20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:
301-405-4084 Email: tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax
(Geol): 301-314-9661 Fax (CPS-ELT):
301-405-0796