tyrannosaurid feeding ecology

["James Farlow" <farlow@ipfw.edu>]

The most recent critical review of Horner's scavenging Tyrannosaurus
hypothesis that I know about was published just last year by the Good
Doctor Holtz and myself:

J.O. Farlow and T. R. Holtz, Jr., 2002, The fossil record of predation
in dinosaurs; pp. 251-265 in M. Kowalewski and P.H. Kelley, eds. The
Fossil Record of Predation, Paleontological Society Papers Volume 8.

Brother Holtz also published a solo article on this matter in a book
about predation and fossils, the details of which I don't have at hand,
but can be supplied by him.

Though it's tough to be completely objective here, I thought we did a
pretty good job of challenging the data and the logic upon which Jack
bases his hypothesis.  For one thing, even though it is true that
Tyrannosaurus had beady little eyes in comparison with the orbit
size-skull size ratio seen in small theropods, its eye size (as
estimated from orbit anteroposterior diameter) relative to skull length
is actually quite large compared with other kinds of living and fossil
reptilian predators.  Tyrannosaurus' orbit is as large or larger,
relative to skull length, as those of Deinosuchus, Sarcosuchus, and
other very big theropods.

There is more in our argument than this, but have a look at our paper.

Harrumph and amen.