Re: theropod tongues

["Dictator-for-life Calvin" <MWEDEL@gslan.offsys.uoknor.edu>]

>From a recent post:

>some sort of beak on _Tyrannosaurus_ is not *completely*
>unreasonable.

Hmm . . . it seems pretty unreasonable to me, but I am admittedly 
kind of green so I thought I'd amplify this to provoke discussion.  
About all I know about beaks comes from birds and turtles, and they 
both have pretty clear skeletal indicators that a beak was 
present--like the skull itself forms a beak.  Tyrannosaurus, to my 
mind, is lacking anything that suggests a beak.  It has "lip-holes" 
along the jaws that Uncle Bob says supported fleshy lips, and I've 
also heard that those foramina were for blood vessels and nerves 
servicing the tooth roots.  I personally haven't seen anything like 
that on a bird or turtle skull, but then I haven't seen too many.  So 
how about it, T. rex fans?  To beak, or not to beak?

Matt Wedel