RE: Guts-Eating Spinosaurs

["Williams, Tim" <TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu>]

Marco Mendez (via Steve  Brusatte) wrote:

>Spinosaur skulls and necks are not very strong to take
>down a big animal. Their skulls are long and narrow, with no much width
>they really cannot clamp down on such prey. 

And meanwhile those long, well-muscled and sharp-clawed forelimbs dangle
uselessly by the spinosaur's side...  

(Hang on! - maybe _Spinosaurus_ used its forelimbs, rather than its jaws, to
grasp and immobilize prey.)

>Both spinosaur types seem not to have very strong teeth, as seen in T. rex
or the other gigantic predators. 

Tyrannosaurs are probably a poor comparison, since their jaws were highly
specialized for seizing prey.  After all, the mini-forelimbs weren't much
good at performing that particular function.  Other big-headed theropods
probably also used their jaws for seizing prey - notice how many of them
have reduced (though perhaps not vestigial) forelimbs.


>Not very likely, since they are animals that lived near the
>river shores and tended to eat fish. 

The type of sediments they are found in + fish scales in the belly do not =
definitely piscivorous and shore-living habits for spinosaurs.  It's
certainly possible, but we cannot *know* that it is true.

>I cant say the sail helped in hunting, however it migth have helped to
>intimidate other dinosaurs. 

I would think a huge, delicate sail sticking out of the vertebral column
would be an impediment when grappling with large prey.

>I would argue that a short snout be more useful in poking into stomach
>crevises, 

I know some vultures that might disagree with you on that point.



Tim