Re: Guanlong wucaii (was RE: Early Version of T. Rex Is Discovered)

[Phil Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

>From the _Nature_ web site:

> The presence of a nasal crest is
> particularly interesting, says Norell,
> because it is so similar to the head
> ornaments carried by many of today's
> birds. Both birds and carnivorous
> dinosaurs such as tyrannosaurs
> belong to the evolutionary family
> known as the theropods.


The discovery of _Guanlong_'s head gear comes as no surprise to me, as I
have suggested for years that _T. rex_ also had some type of large fleshy
snout ornamentation.  The nasal bones on _T. rex_ are truly bizarre. 
They are generally rugose bones (bumpy) and are pitted with abundant
nutrient foramen.  There is *no* reason for this bone morphology to
evolve randomly in a lineage.  The rugosity had to have been for the
attachment of some type of integument.

I predict that, some time in the not-too-distant future, all artistic
depictions of _T. rex_ will show its badass snout gear in all of its
glory.

I don't know about _Guanlong_'s field of view, but the probability of a
nasal crest on _T. rex_ could have implications regarding limited
restriction of its field of view in certain angles.

<pb>
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