Re: JP3 Thoughts (frilled Dilophosaurus revisited)

["Steve Brusatte" <dinoland@lycos.com>]

On Thu, 19 Jul 2001 10:17:18
 ANN  SCHMIDT wrote:
>I'm mostly a lurker on this list but I feel I must comment.  A frill could
>be for display but why would Dilophosaurus need it when it already has that
>great crest?

I doubt that Dilophosaurus really did possess a frill like the one shown in 
Jurassic Park (although I wouldn't be surprised if some dinosaurs did).  
However, let's look at a hypothetical dinosaur with two head crests.  These 
crests are obviously display structures, probably used to attract mates.  They 
are too thin to be used for much of anything else.  However, with these crests 
why would the individual even have use for a frill?  The way I see it, if the 
frill is also a display structure used to attract mates, you can't have too 
many display structures.  Sure, the crests would be good enough to attract 
mates, but think about a "super male," an individual with both crests AND a 
frill!  That male would have the better chance to procreate his genes.

Of course, this is hypothetical, and would surprise me if it indeed happened in 
Dilophosaurus.  However, I firmly believe that there is no such thing as too 
many display structures.

Steve

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