RE: Alvarezsaur spurs (SPOILERS)

[Anthony Docimo <keenir@hotmail.com>]

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> Date: Mon, 2 May 2011 17:20:06 +1000
> From: tijawi@gmail.com
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Subject: Re: Alvarezsaur spurs (was Re: dino-lice)
>
> Anthony Docimo wrote:
>
>
> > From what I can recall, though, the canines are used for fighting members 
> > of their own species, more often than members of other species. could an 
> > Aardwolf bite an attacker? sure - but in terms of
> > last-ditch resorts, it falls somewhere between Giant Anteaters using their 
> > claws, and T.rex lying down (or falling, if uncharitable in description) on 
> > someone.
>
> There are times when running/fleeing isn't an option - such as when
> the aardwolf is in its own den, and an intruder is trying to get in.
> Encounters between a denning aardwolf and jackals are apparently quite
> common, especially when the aardwolf has cubs. In these
> confrontations, yes, an aardwolf will bite an attacker.
 
I'm not doubting that; but those are extreme circumstances.  
 
 
> BTW, I didn't understand your _T. rex_ comment. Although the puny
> arms would be useless for bringing down a potential attacker, the jaws
> and teeth would have done the job quite effectively.
 
 it was a joke...when all else fails, T.rex can always sit on somebody.  
 
 
only after I posted, did I remember an occurance:  in the second book of his 
Quintaglio Ascension _Fossil Hunter_, Robert J. Sawyer has one of the 
antagonists leap onto the back of a T.rex and dig in around the shoulderblades, 
becoming unremovable no matter how much it reaches or shakes.
 
 so the T.rex stops, and does a sumersault, squashing the antagonist flat.

>