On 11/8/2011 5:06 PM, Dann Pigdon wrote:
If you climbed trees in the Mesozoic for safety, then they would have to have been considerably tall trees.
Why? If you mean that mega-theropods were combing through the Mesozoic canopy at night searching for 1 kg tidbits -- well, I doubt it. I am a little surprised that people nominate mega-theropods as a primary predator of Archie-type animals, and one that would render a GFTR lifestyle untenable or even marginal.
Seems like a very unlikely mega-theropod behavior/ecology. My guess is that it is more likely that getting stepped on was the danger from the larger animals, as previously stated.
If your climbing abilities weren't much to write home about, then hiding down low and out of sight might have been a better option. Especially if your cursorial adaptations were better than your aerial ones when it came to abandoning your hiding place and making a dash for it.
I don't see that -- speaking strategically, a passive glider that can run well should have a much better chance in a high place than it would dragging that long tail and wings through the bushes.
The logical threat would be 5kg-100kg bad boys. Have they been ruled out by the record?