Re[2]: theropod scavenging

[Tom Pearce <tpearce@cix.co.uk>]

> I wonder if T.rex's arms really had any predatory function. Despite being
> able to curl an impressive 400 lbs, its still seems rather featherweight to 
> haul in...say 11,000 lbs of prey. But I seriously doubt the idea of "you 
> must have good arms to hunt dingdarnit", for should that hold true, I can 
> think of a great deal of modern predators that would be by that argument, 
> unable to hunt. As a matter of fact, it seems that the use of forelimbs to 
> hunt is an exception, rather then the rule in most predatory animals. Arms 
> or not, it's probablt irrevelant to Tyrannosaurus' status as a predator. It 
> just happens to be one part of Tyrannosaurid anatomy that people view as 
> "weak" and it seems to me an argument for obligate "scavengery" out of 
> convenience, rather then it holding any water. Ironically, the entire 
> argument of having arms too "weak" to hunt is rather weak in itself.

One of the most evocative descriptions of the tyrannosaurids I've ever
come across dubbed them "land sharks", and it's quite easy to imagine
these creatures accelerating through a clearing and crashing into the
side of a grazing dino with their head down & mouth wide.
The arms appear to have been robust enough to still serve some
function, but I can't imagine them being used in predation - 7 tonnes
of teeth barrelling into your prey will do most of the work ;-)