Re: dino-lice

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

On Tue, Apr 19th, 2011 at 4:01 AM, Augusto Haro <augustoharo@gmail.com> wrote:

> It may be, although I suspect that dinosaurs with great olfactory
> acuity as tyrannosaurids and dromaeosaurids may reach it before and
> open the carcasses then. I would also expect more laterally compressed
> unguals, dromaeosaur-style, if expecting carcass hide-cutting.
> Besides, I do not see in the shout of alvarezsaurs much indication of
> carrion-eating, such as recurved beak or teeth...

Who needs to pierce hide when you've got a narrow head and long neck, and 
nature has provided 
a ready-made access chute for reaching the intestines? Some of the smaller 
vulture species that 
lack the strength to pierce hide opt for the sphincter option.

I've always wondered whether alvarezsaur forelimbs were attrophied from general 
lack of utility 
(as in Carnotaurus), with the only function left being that of intraspecific 
kangaroo-style wrestling 
matches.

-- 
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Dann Pigdon
Spatial Data Analyst               Australian Dinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia               http://home.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
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