RE: Feathers for T-rex?

["Sticht, Aaron" <Aaron.Sticht@qwest.com>]

I agree entirely!

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. [mailto:tholtz@geol.umd.edu] 
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 4:15 PM
To: dannj@alphalink.com.au; DML
Subject: RE: Feathers for T-rex?

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Dann Pigdon
>
> "Sticht, Aaron" wrote:
> >
> > I think it is very plausible that at least the young t-rexes had some
> > feathery coating, and possibly even ornamental feathers
> adorning the heads
> > of the adult rexes.
>
> Feathers need to be kept clean is they are to function properly as a
> display device. How could adult tyrannosaurs possibly clean feathers
> on the top or back of their heads? At least dromaeosaurs could likely
> reach that area with their long forelimbs.

I think you are pre-supposing complex feathers here (i.e., Stage 3 or higher
in Prum & Brush's nomenclature).  Since tyrannosaurs lie below the node for
which Stage 3 feathers are synapomorphic, it is as likely they had only
Stage 2 feathers (tufts of unbranched barbs attached to a calamus).  One
would wonder how much maintainence these tufts would require.

(This might be similar to, for example, big-bodied mammals like rhinos who
have no real way of preening in the fasion of cats and dogs and so forth).

                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
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796