Re: T-rex arms

[ornstn@inforamp.net (Ronald Orenstein)]

>My response:
>T-rex arms have the same function that mononykid arms had, grappling mates.
> They are good only in close proximity, they are very strong and (hopefully)
>they do not puncture.  
>
>Comments?
>
Not having been there at the time, I can't be as certain of this  as Dave is...

Anyway, I find it hard to imagine Mononykus grappling anything with those
arms.  Pushing,  shoving, poking, yes (which is why I wonder about a
ritualized combat function) but hardly grappling.  Further - in most animals
with grappling structures designed specifically for copulation (eg nuptial
pads on toads) such characters are strongly sexually dimporphic, and I am
unaware of any noted dimorphism in (say) T rex forearms.
--
Ronald I. Orenstein                           Phone: (905) 820-7886 (home)
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