VERY BRIEF WORD ON ORCAS AGAIN

[dwn194@soton.ac.uk]

My sincere apologies for posting this here, but a while ago I had a
little diatribe with someone who didn't believe me when I said that
there were authenticated cases of orcas attacking large whales. Here
is a recent account reporting such an occurrence.

**Skip down the page for some DINOSAUR stuff**.

> -- [ From: Pelagic Shark Research Foundation * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] --
> 
> PELAGIC DISPATCH~
> 
> Santa Cruz CA
> Monterey Bay-(PD)
> 
>
> At 8:11 am, tuesday May 14, Twelve miles out: the sport charterboat
> 'Sea Dancer' reported the location of a dead gray whale calf out
> near the weather bouye in the deep water over the Monterey bay
> marine canyon. Skipper Mike Baxter observed that the head was
> smashed and it was covered with deep white scratches,("like fingers
> dragged across a cakes frosting.") While it appeared fresh there was
> no blood or visible slick, but two dozen western gulls and brown
> pelicans sat on and around the whale. Baxter reported two large
> shark bites on the stem of the tail.(peduncle)
>
> The dead gray whale was spotted and reported several times over as
> many days. The trend indicated that north-west winds were pushing it
> into the bay toward Moss Landing.
>
> The gray whale calf (what was left of it) had been dead for at least
> a couple weeks, when it was spotted and reported rolling around in
> the surf just north of the Pajaro river early on Monday may 20.
> Researchers from Moss Landing Marine Lab, Long Marine Lab and the
> Pelagic Shark Research Foundation examined the carcass later in the
> afternoon.  The head was destroyed, lower mandible missing,
> vertebrae were disarticulating. Badly decomposed with ribs sticking
> out, outer skin sluffed off. Despite the poor condition of the whale
> calf, (The length of the remains was 18' ft) investigators noted
> that the carcass bore the long distinctive sets of deep scratches
> associated with orca attack, There were three very distinct white
> shark bites on the keels of the peduncle. The flukes were intact and
> had both shark and orca scars. Investigators were unanimous about
> the wounds. It is likely that the orcas intercepted the calf over
> the canyon, scratching it up and destroying the head, the white
> sharks would later do a post mortem sample.
>
> It was so gross no wanted to do a necropsy, the skeleton was
> demolished so it was relinquished back to the gulls and some
> unfortunate persons shaggy dog that was rubbing and rolling all over
> the viscera of the decomposing cetacean.  And so it goes.
> 
> Thats all for now.
> 
> The Pelagic Shark Research Foundation.
> 333 Lake Ave Ste H
> S.C. Maritime center
> S.C. Yacht Harbor
> Santa Cruz CA
> 95062

DINOSAUR STUFF

Walter Coombs has a paper reporting a new ankylosaur specimen in the
latest _Palaeontology_. I'll have a look this afternoon and post more
details then. I don't think it's a new taxon, and the animal looks
pretty complete.

SERENO'S WATER BABIES

Those of you that have read Bakker et al's description of _Edmarka
rex_ may recall the curious suggestion that the Cenomanian African
theropod genera _Spinosaurus_, _Carcharodontosaurus_ and
_Bahariasaurus_ were marine predators. I'm on my way *now* to pick up
Sereno's description of the new material, but I take it we can safely
assume that postcrania refutes any such notions for
_Carcharodontosaurus_. I'm assuming that they managed to match the
morphology of the teeth in the skull with those that are the type. Is
that correct? An article in the British 'Times' on the new theropods
featured what looked to be a John Sibbick restoration of the two
beasts. I only have a poor photocopy, so I can't be sure: anyone know
any better? And, on the old phylogenetic line, are
_Carcharodontosaurus_ and _Bahariasaurus_ still allied within their
own allosauroid family?

MORE MOA

Two persons on this list have previously mentioned maori legends
involving human-_Harpagornis_ interaction. I need more info on this,
and if anyone can help please email me. Thanks. Jim Farlow mailed some
info on evidence for predation upon moa by _Harpagornis_ some time
ago: I've mislaid this, so if anyone has it floating around, can you
please fwd it. Alternatively, if you know the date it was posted
please let me know so I can retrieve it from the archives. Cheers!

"Holy s*it - it's the attack of Eddy Munster!"

DARREN NAISH
dwn194@soton.ac.uk