RE: Regarding Spinosaurus

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Williams, Tim
> Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 4:24 PM
> To: 'Graydon '
> Cc: 'dinosaur@usc.edu'
> Subject: RE: Regarding Spinosaurus
>
>
> Graydon wrote:
>
> >Has anyone considered the possibility of the jaw structure being
> >intended, not particularly for pscivory, but for feeding from the body
> >cavities of sauropods?
>
> You mean like vultures?  Spinosaurs have a strong manual claw that might
> have been useful in tearing open carcasses.  Spinosaurs would also need a
> flexible neck - and, judging from the cervical articulations, this appears
> to be the case.

[snip]

Incidentally, the second-ever paper on _Baryonyx_ (okay, a letter to Nature)
concerned spinosaurids-as-scavengers:
Kitchner, A. 1987. Function of Claw's claws. Nature 325: 114.

Reid responded in:
Reid, R.E.H. 1987. Claws' claws. Nature 325: 487.

The debate is summarized in pp. 61-63 of:
Charig, A.J. & A.C. Milner. 1997. _Baryonyx walkeri_, a fish-eating dinosaur
from the Wealden of Surrey. Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus., Geol. Series 53: 11-70.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
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