[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Subject Index][Author Index]
Re: A true appearance of a large theropod
On Tue, Aug 4th, 2015 at 1:58 AM, Poekilopleuron <dinosaurtom2015@seznam.cz>
wrote:
> Good day, I was wondering what would a large 12+ meters long theropod actually
> look and behave like? Would it resemble a large flightless bird of prey or
> would it be more like an agile long-legged crocodile? Thank you in advance,
Generalising about non-avian dinosaurs in terms of them being 'bird-like' or
'croc-like' is like trying
to classify all mammals as either 'bat-like' or 'whale-like'. Birds and crocs
are extremely
specialised archosaurs that are unlikely to be useful as anatomical or
behavioural examples for
extinct archosaurs in general. Even the non-avian theropod 'cousins' of birds
are likely to have
differed significantly from modern avians in aspects of their appearance and
behaviour.
My answer to your question would therefore be either 'possibly a bit of both'
or 'probably neither'.
--
_____________________________________________________________
Dann Pigdon
Spatial Data Analyst Australian Dinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia http://home.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
_____________________________________________________________