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Re: One last thing on the bitten _Edmontosaurus_

The most relevant bit (written by Ken) was:

     Actually, the height is 13 feet. The top 1/3 of one neural spine
     is obliquely sheared off leaving a U-shaped groove. There is some
     remodeling of the bone indicating some healing occured prior to
     death. Other neural spines are mangled, with at least two tooth
     punctures. These and the missing spine form a nice U-shape that
     conforms well with the cast of the T. rex skull we have. Jack has
     seen it and agrees that it most likely was done by a T rex,
     however, argues that it was a rare attack.

I interpret that to mean that one spine has a small U-shaped groove
that looks like it was formed by a single tooth biting through it, and
the overall pattern of damage forms a larger U-shape that looks like
outline of the Tyrannosaur's jaw.  Jerry should comment if I've biffed
that description


  Yes, SIR! Commenting, SIR! ("Prepare to comment...comment NOW!")

Of course, when I was in the process of applying the tendons to the specimen, I had a mere bachelor's degree and little hands-on paleontological experience, so I may not have recognized "tooth marks" for what they were. However, my personal _recollection_ is that there weren't any obvious punctures (this may be my faulty memory, though, so don't take this as gospel!), although there are certainly gnarled, deformed areas that could easily be rehealed bite marks. I am definitely looking forward to seeing figures in Ken's paper to see specifically what he is calling "tooth marks." After I move (again!, next weekend), I may see if I can dig up my old photos of the specimen -- I can't recall if I've got any close-ups or not, but if I do, I'll see if I can post them. The description of the overall shape of the affected caudal area is more or less accurate -- I personally might describe it more as "parabolic" than "U-shaped," but that's a fine distinction. It certainly does, as Ken says, conform nicely to the shape of the front of a tyrannosaur mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
Dept of Earth & Environmental Science
University of Pennsylvania
240 S 33rd St
Philadelphia PA  19104-6316
Phone: (215) 573-8373
Fax: (215) 898-0964
E-mail: jdharris@sas.upenn.edu
and     dinogami@hotmail.com
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jdharris

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