Re: T. Rex

[stssram@st.unocal.com (Bob Myers)]

On Mar 21, 12:34, larrys@zk3.dec.com wrote:
} Subject: Re: T. Rex
> 
> weight of meat off the hoof, possibly compounded with a slash from the
> rear talons.  This thing had _massive_ muscles and tendons, not to mention
> pretty ferocious claws.

Ok, am I out of date, or is this comment about claws & talons wrong?

Gregory Paul (_Predatory Dinosaurs of the World_, p.321, 1988) says:

 "One often reads about the tyrannosaur's supposedly "eagle-like" feet and
 how they did nasty things to their prey with them.  Nothing could be further
 from the truth.  Tyrannosaur hind claws are greatly reduced, being short,
 broad, and rounded.  Only ostrich-mimics have equally blunt, hooflike claws.
 Like some other avetheropods, tyrannosaurs could deliver a stun-mean kick
 with their powerful hind limbs.  They probably fought intraspecific disputes
 like overgrown ostriches, balancing on one foot and pushing out with the
 other.  But the claws were not important in dispatching prey."

-- 
Bob Myers                               Unocal Energy Resources Division
Internet: Bob.Myers@st.unocal.com       P. O. Box 68076
Phone: [714] 693-6951                   Anaheim, California  92817-8076