Re: no egg-gnawing mammals

[Robert.J.Meyerson@uwrf.edu (Rob Meyerson)]

John Bois writes;

>No.  They break them because it is easier than gnawing an egg through. 
>If they couldn't break it, I bet they could gnaw it.  Why, even I can
>gnaw at an egg the size of a house--I tried it on my house. 
>I am buying a mouse tomorrow.  All it gets are eggs.  I'll let you know
>how the mouse gets by.

Unless you're suggesting that the Late K mammals were as strong as Sly
 Stalone, this idea is weaker than the Late K mammals in question.  Try
 to imagine a rat sized animal trying to break through a hadrosaur egg:
 all you end up with is the mammal rolling the egg, like an elephant in
 a circus act.

Dispite popular opinion, an egg is a remarkably strong structure.  Try
 crushing an egg by applying force down the long axis, it takes a lot
 of force to be able to do it (which makes sence, since the tip end is
 the one that comes out first, and must withstand the fall to the
 ground).  AFAIK, all dinosaur egg sites known, that are found in situ,
 show that the eggs were kept in this position, with the long axis
 pointing vertically.  In this position, a mammal could never apply
 enough force to crush the egg.

>> Now, extrapolate that to cat-size (max) mammals before K/T with eggs
>> bigger than an ostrich's (and with a thicker shell) and I think you
>> will concede that the problem still exists..........
>
>Rejected.  See egg-analogue argument, viz gnawing my house.

Yeah, go gnaw your house, then come back and tell us if that would be
 a reasonable way for you to get nourishment:-)

>Bingo.  The tunnels are expensive.  But they are SECURE and as such, are
>worth the price.  But therer are no rules as to where they should
>dig them.  How about half way between two colonies, i.e., a short
>nightly jaunt to the dinosaur egg patch.

The only reason why they are secure is because they protect the little
 guys from the likes of _Troodon_.  The idea that tunnels were staging
 areas for nightly dino-egg raids is preposterous.  Ultimately, there
 is no workable senario that can allow a rat sized mammal to get
 through an egg, no matter how determined or clever the animal may be.

End of story,

Rob

***
"Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!"
                -MPATHG