T rex print-Ty-rant

[smithjb@sas.upenn.edu (Joshua Smith)]

Tracy Ford wrote:
> 
> You wrote: 
> >
> >> There is Tyrannosauropus (or is it Tyrannosauripus?--my reference is not 
> >> with
> >> me in San Diego yet), which is based on a large print that can only be that
> >> of Tyrannosaurus, the only dinosaur capable of leaving a print of that size
> >> and shape.
> >> 
> >     I think it is _Tyrannosauripus_.  My reference is here somewhere...
> >
> >     Oh come on, George.  Ten years ago _Tyrannosaurus_ was the 
> >"largest" theropod, too.  Just because there isn't another  theropod in the 
> >current fossil record from the New Mexico Maastrichtian that is large 
> >enough to create _Tyrannosauripus_ does not mean that one didn't exist.  
> >Josh Smith
> 
> The person you SHOULD be ranting at is Martin Lockley, HE'S the one who 
> identified the print, and George is just relateing what Martin said.

        Actually, this is much less of a rant than most of the stuff that 
normally gets thrown out on this list.  I realize that Martin (and Adrian 
Hunt, BTW) described the ichnotaxon, and Martin knows my stance on his 
trackmaker postulations for it.  The point that George and I are/were 
discussing concerns the methodology of negative evidence more than the 
specific trackmaker assignments for _Tyrannosauripus_.  


-- 
__________________________
Josh Smith
Department of Geology
University of Pennsylvania
471 Hayden Hall
240 South 33rd Street
Philadelphia, PA  19104-6316
(215) 898-5630 (Office)
(215) 898-0964 (FAX)
smithjb@sas.upenn.edu