Re: Armoured Spinosaurus

["no go" <honkietong@hotmail.com>]

> > Steve  Brusatte wrote:
   Actually, although this conversation has skewed toward Hollywood (ugh) 
it
actually does bring up a good point.  Are there any non-avian theropods
that have been found with purely defensive armor?  I wouldn't "count" the
"horn" of Carnotaurus (or probably the dermal ossicles of Ceratosaurus,
although they may be a possibility).  I don't know how common defensive
armor is in modern carnivores, so I can't really comment, but certainly
some smaller theropods were preyed on as well as herbivores (ankylosaurs,
stegosaurs, and other forms with defensive armor).  And, there are also
some theropods that were likely not carnivorous (therizinosaurs and
ornithomimosaurs).  Just curious...what have the bizarre claws of the
therizinosaurs been reconstructed as?  Could they have been a possible
defensive weapon for protection against carnivorous theropods?<<

I don't think it makes much sense for carnivorous theropods to spot armour. 
Having armour to a degree as which to provide the animal with sufficent 
protection from larger theropods would have imposed serious restrictions on 
speed and agility, which are prime to dodging predators and catching prey. 
It becomes all the more obvious when you get to the late KT, where the only 
armour sufficent to stop attacks from the smash-mouth Tyrannosaurid 
predators were ankylosaurid level protection, which for obvious reasons, if 
mounted on a lightweight carnivorous theropod, would have some really 
undesirable results indeed. It appears just running away is a tatic that's 
hard to beat. But of course, I'm just waving my hands here. On the other 
hand, it appears some of the land-dwelling crocs like Postosuchus did appear 
to sprout armour on their backs, I wonder what was the reason...



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