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Re: If you had a time machine...



> But should add the one thing I'd definately NOT want to see/hear/endure again 
> - and thats the assumption that prehistoric terrestrial fauna spent the 
> entire day screaming/roaring/yelling at each other at the top of their lungs 
> with their mammalian larynxes (heck, even stem tetrapods, stem diapsids and 
> chelicerates in Walking with Monsters!). Its as if predators must always 
> loudly advertise their intentions to their prey prior to attacking. I've seen 
> enough wild varanids and crocodylids in action to know you can have some 
> riveting attack sequences combined with stoic silence, at least on the part 
> of the predator.

True!. Arthropods yelling like in Lord of the Rings!! Yelling would
make sense in few cases, such as an intraspecific confrontation, or
intraspecific one between carnivores at a kill site. Other thing, no
more exaggerated movements. Not unlikely frenetic and inflated
movements in spiders killing their prey like assassins with more or
less 20 stabbings. See videos of Recent spiders for something at least
more approximate. And adult non amniote tetrapods (old "amphibians")
should likely eat prey by swallowing it entirely, as Recent
lissamphibians do, and not cutting it into pieces as in some WW
documentaries.

As a carnivore fan when younger, I would also ask for some never-shown
distinctive mammalian carnivores such as borhyaenoids, creodonts,
mesonychids, amphicyonids, giant hyenas, Plesiogulo, nimravids, etc.
showing the hunting and living stiles inferred for them.