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RE: Lack of Running Giant Theropod Tracks
Generally speaking, the herbivore is going to be holding the cards here. When
hunting bulky animals with horns/antlers, carnivores will typically do what
they can to attack from the back side of an animal, especially when their front
limbs lack the ability to grasp/maneuver tricky prey items. Wolves hunting elk
may be a decent analogy here. It's much more likely that a _Tyrannosaurus_
would try to keep as far away from the horns as possible. As long as the
_Triceratops_ is facing the _Tyrannosaurus_, I find it highly unlikely that the
_Tyrannosaurus_ would lunge forward, unless it was either a. remarkably
inexperienced or b. extremely hungry and desperate. Carnivores may be
threatened by bluff charges and aggressive posturing, and often times a direct
impact isn't necessary to keep the herbivore involved safe and alive.
That said, in all likelihood, large ceratopsians would be much less likely
targets than their more vulnerable and less risky offspring.
> One thing that also occurs to me is if the rex/whatever
> were charging
> or otherwise moving towards the triceratops, would those
> horns be able
> to withstand the impact?
>
> And as far as the rostral horn is concerned, it probably
> doesn't have
> much of an edge, so considerable force might be needed for
> a similar
> piercing function.
>
> Just how well is a ceratopsid skull built to take
> impaces?