Re: JP3 Thoughts (frilled Dilophosaurus revisited)

["Mickey Mortimer" <Mickey_Mortimer11@msn.com>]

Demetrios M. Vital wrote-

> THat's what I have heard, too.  The venom glands, like I wrote in a post a
> few days ago, are highly modified external oral glands, and I believe the
> original glandular function was saliva.  Again, that's why theropods can't
> be venomous like snakes and lizards; they don't have external oral glands.

This is quite an interesting statement in light of Rodriguez-de la Rosa and
Aranda-Manteca's (2000) discovery of a eumaniraptoran tooth (FCM 06/053)
with a posterior venom groove, similar to elapids and helodermatids.  This
would seem to indicate either some dinosaurs had external oral glands or
analogous structures, or else developed venom glands in some other way.

Rodriguez-de la Rosa and Aranda-Manteca, 2000. Were there venomous
theropods? SVP 20(3) 64A.

Mickey Mortimer