Re: Ceratopsian paraphernalia

[rjmeyer@ix.netcom.com (Rob Meyerson)]

Steve Jackson writes;

>So, if these characters were so effective at their job, whatever it was,
>why did the morphology diverge so greatly between species? Obviously the
>job they were doing was one that could be done well in many different ways

Why do birds have such a wide range of feather patterns/colors?  Because those 
patterns help with species identification, especially during the breeding 
season.  In the same way, ceratopian (note the missing "s") headgear is a way 
for the different species to tell each other apart, and prevents interspecies 
unions.

If I am right, then this would suggest that ceratopians are highly visual 
creatures.  Question: Does the shape of the eyes support this conclusion?


Shalom,

Rob Meyerson

***
"Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes."
        -Airplane II