Re: Deinosuchus and Tyrannosaurus

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

dunn1@IDT.NET wrote:
> 
> Remember the recent discussion concerning crocodilians and
> dinosaurs?  If you have not already had this to death, please check
> out this diorama:
> 
> http://www.ccast.com/models/croc1.jpg
> 
> and opine as to its plausibility.

Interestingly I have always wondered at the exact function of
crocodilian scutes. Obviously they are useful in avoiding damage
from submerged logs and the like, and perhaps protect them from
each other. Yet crocodilian scutes tend to concentrate on the top
of the animal, leaving the underside soft and vulnerable (I have patted
a crocodile and I can attest to their velvet-like bellies). I have often
wondered whether the concentration of scutes on the top could perhaps
have originated due to predation from above - ie. from much larger
predators such as dinosaurs. The above mentioned JPEG image is just
the sort of scenario I would imagine if this was the case.

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        Dann Pigdon
        Melbourne, Australia
        http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/4459/

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