Re: Speculative dino species

["David Marjanovic" <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Farke" <andyfarke@hotmail.com>
To: "Dinonet" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Sunday, July 29, 2001 9:48 PM
Subject: Re: Speculative dino species

> [...]
> I was thinking, though, more about the effects of newly
> introduced predators having a heyday with the therizinosaurs (similar to
the
> faunal turnovers when North and South American critters met). Who
> knows--maybe abelisaurids really liked therizinosaurs because they were
> plump and tasty. At any rate, we're likely to have some major faunal
> turnovers "when continents collide." I nominate the therizinosaurs as a
> candidate for North American extinction or extripation when the isthmus of
> Panama reappears, due to new predators.

Extirpation of large clades is not what happened in the Great American
Interchange. Borhyaenids and sebecids did disappear (though don't ask me if
that didn't actually happen _before_), but phorusracids, litopterns and
notoungulates didn't, even though only 2 genera of the former (emigrant
*Titanis*, unnamed in Uruguay) and 1 each of the latters (*Macrauchenia*,
*Toxodon*) survived, until humans came, that is. Ground sloths (hint, hint,
segnosaurs) and glyptodonts emerged unscathed, AFAIK, and at least the
former got into the north.

> I envision a small theropod with little sharp premaxillary teeth, sneaking
> in at night to dine on the blood of sleeping sauropods. . .

:-)
( B-) :-> JP5 = Scary Movie 3?)

> Daniel Bensen:>Perhaps all the large, carnivorous dinosaurs died out
during
> the ice age, and all new large forms are giant versions of small forms.

In the areas that became cold, maybe.

Congratulations to HP Matti Aumala for his drawing skills! Furthermore, the
arboreal oviraptorosaur is IMHO a good idea, and the aye-aye dromaeosaur
reminds me of the undescribed beast from Liáoníng... it may be real
<withdrawal-symptoms-from-waiting-for-the-paper>.