Re: Dromeo Danger

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

don ohmes writes: 

> Heh. I live in a place that has coyotes aplenty. I
> hear them several times a week, and can find fresh
> scat w/in 100m of the house easily. Unless I work at
> it, I see ZERO coyotes. On the other hand, I get
> attacked by mockingbirds pretty regular, in season.

Being small, volant, quick and very manouevrable tends to 'embiggen' the 
smallest of creatures. :) 

Here in Australia the boldest bird would have to be the willy wag-tail 
(Rhipidura leucophrys) - a tiny insect eater that will gladly take on a 
magpie or a crow (known nest raiders) in single combat despite mass 
diffences of several orders of magnitude. Their aerial agility makes them 
almost immune to reprisals, so most of their victims don't bother making the 
effort anyway. 

If willy wag-tails will attack magpies, and magpies will themselves attack 
wedge-tailed eagles (as my mother witnessed in her own front yard; the 
aftermath including a lot of damaged and destroyed potted plants), then that 
would seem to make the willy wag-tail the baddest mo-fo on the block. Look 
upon it's fearsome visage with awe:
http://thumbs.photo.net/photo/2879863-sm.jpg 

> Another point; sharks don't necessarily packhunt, but
> they do tend to gather at the site of a ruckus.

Great Whites have been known to hunt in pairs on occasions, but in many 
respects they're more like a mammal than a fish. Reef sharks will hunt 
together in groups, but it's not what you'd call cooperative hunting (more 
like an angry mob). 

> BTW -- Sharks are the best extant velociraptor
> 'tooth-analogue' I know of. 
> Are there any other candidates?

Monitor lizards come to mind. 

___________________________________________________________________ 

Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist              http://geo_cities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia             http://heretichides.soffiles.com
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