Re: Phorusrhacids killing large mammals in National Geographic Channel

[frank bliss <frank@blissnet.com>]

Delurking from the shadows....

Birds have an interesting immune system, first systematically studied  
by a guy by the name of Stroud while in Federal prison.  (I've got a  
copy.) They suffer greatly from ailments as other creatures do.  A  
rating system comparing mammals to birds would be difficult however  
because they are completely different in their responses to certain  
"germs" (for lack of a shorter more accurate phrase).  Birds mask  
their symptoms well so as to not look sick in the eyes of their own  
species so as to avoid being pushed out of the "safety in numbers"  
aspect of their existence.  Resistance to any particular bacteria will  
almost always be species specific and certainly genus specific.  There  
are certain "germs" pretty much attack anything. More typically, there  
are cross order or family problems as the current buzz about swine  
influenza indicates.  However, I doubt the average fish has much to  
worry about from it.  Anyone ever see a turkey vulture with a stomach  
ache?  Nice eating habits there.  Hyenas also get into some nasty  
things and don't have issues on a large scale from their nocturnal  
feasts.

Birds do however have a very big problem with blood loss.  If they  
start to bleed, they die quickly primarily because they don't have  
that much to loose and go into shock easily.

Cats do play with their prey in a nasty way.  Catch them, chew a  
little, let them go, pounce again ad nausium...   Cats spread many  
diseases that are cross species agents with humans.  Cat Scratch Fever  
for those of you that appreciate that golden oldie.

Applying this to dinosaurs would be impossible except to say that your  
basic dinosaur probably didn't have the cleanest dental hygene and  
therefore a bite from almost anything can and could turn into a nasty  
infection. Don't let a Varanus kimodoesnsis get his teeth on you or  
you'll be taking antibiotics for a while assuming you get away.   
Nasty!  There has been a lot of chatter about species of dinosaurs  
have used the flora living in their mouths by just getting a bite in,  
stepping back and being patient letting the infection kill their  
intended prey.  They avoid a greater risk of injury in a fight that  
way. Something about survival advantage......

Bliss Dinosaur ranch report:

A couple of nice denticulate Cretaceous mammal jaws and misc teeth  
from various cretaceous mammals have come out this year.  Lots of  
regular Hell Creek stuff as well as lots of misc teeth from virtually  
everybody that had teeth to give at the time. I located what looks  
like another animal slowly working his way to the surface.  I'll pass  
judgement on him later after unrelated mid-August activities have  
passed.  Had some early guests, they had a great time and found lots  
of interesting things.  There are a lot of critters other than  
dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Fm.   I haven't even had  
time to open up the triceratops site this year so it remains under  
several layers of tarp and earth.  It's been there 65 million years,  
what's a few more weeks.  The small stuff is much more fun that those  
durn big bones and much easier to store.  I've got 6 foot long ribs  
literally hanging from my ceiling.  Can't wait till I get 20 or  
so.........

Frank (Rooster) Bliss
www.wyomingdinosaurs.com

On Jul 25, 2009, at 11:28 PM, Erik Boehm wrote:

> > > Is it likely a Phorusrhacid would be similarly doomed
> > by a defensive bite from a mammal?
> >
> > isn't a small mammal (ie a mouse) just as
> > vulnerable to being in a predator's mouth as a small
> > bird?  a Phorusrhacid would likely have tougher skin
> > than a parakeet does.
>
> I don't know how a small mouse would fare after having been in a  
> cats mouth. Obviously, the wounds from the teeth are the more  
> immediate threat.
> In the event a mouse is rescued *mid attack* from a cats mouth, such  
> that there are no deep cuts - no blood loss, no organs or bones  
> damaged... I have no idea how it would cope.
>
> I was just wondering if anyone knew the "relative strength" of bird  
> vs mammal immune systems.
>
> I was just surprised how quickly this (obviously escaped pet) bird  
> succumbed to infection after very minor wounds. Other than that, I  
> have no idea about the strength of bird immune systems, so I was  
> just wondering if they are in general "weak", and wondering what  
> effect this would have on their predation methods.