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Fwd: Re: Oviraptor=Parrot?
Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:36:56 +0100
To: simkoning@msn.com
From: Marco Auditore <maaudito@tin.it>
Subject: Re: Oviraptor=Parrot?
At 08.08 02/02/2006 -0500, simkoning@msn.com wrote:
I just watched the Discovery channel documentary 'Dinosaur Planet'
and noticed that once again, the Oviraptor is portrayed as a vicious
predator competing with Velociraptor.
From: David Marjanovic <david.marjanovic@gmx.at>
Nobody ever seems to have suggested it in the scientific literature.
Hadn't I heard it preassumed in another TV show, I wouldn't know anyone
had ever thought so at all.
Just as an example, Don Lessem's 'Dinosaur Encyclopedia' says, "The form
of its jaws and the shape of its hands indicate that it was a rapacious
hunter". In the books that I have read, it is typically described as a
predator, an egg eater, a mollusk eater or an omnivore. I hardly ever see
any comparison drawn between this family and parrots. The only author I
can think of who did was Greg Paul.
Hi to all,
some time ago I wrote an article about the oviraptorids for a now closed
Italian magazine on Dinosaurs called "DINOSAURI", and even I wrote about
the extremely similar skull morphology of Oviraptorids and psittaciformes.
It's only a my think, but generally similar morphology are synonym of
similar mode of life and in this case I'm convinced that the oviraptorids,
like the parrots, were capable to eat hard foods, like seeds and eggs
(yes, I'm conviced that they were really egg thieves), It's obvious that
they had even structures that permit to capture and eat even small prey,
like lizard or baby dinosaurs (like Byronosaurus). In a word, they were
omnivores.
Now I've no time because 5 february I'll go in Patagonia to partecipate to
an Argentinean/Italian expedition (naturally we'll go to extract dinosaurs!
This is my first time, yeah!!!), but when I'll come back I'll scan the
article. If anyone will be interested I'll send the pdf to all.
Bye
Marco
MARCO AUDITORE
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E-mail: maaudito@tin.it
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