Re: Suchomimus vs Baryonyx: Dare to Compare

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

Jeff Hecht wrote:
> 
> This seems to be one weird critter, with no direct analogies today. The
> body is somewhat bear-like, the skull crocidilian, and the neck longer than
> either.  Was the narrow skull an adaptation to give greater head mobility
> than possible with the massive skulls of other giant theropods?
> -- Jeff Hecht

I long ago mentioned, during that old chestnut of a thread
"Tyrannosaurus: hunter or scavenger?" that we should be looking
for species with long, narrow skulls for probing into a carcass to
identify possibly scavenging species. At the time Velociraptor
mongoliensis and Baryonyx walkeri came to mind. Could spinosaurs in
general have leant more towards the scavenging side of things? A
long narrow skull and mobile neck would be just right for getting
deep into carcasses. Most crocodylian species also seem to do quite
a bit of scavenging, so could this perhaps explain the convergence
of skull/tooth form?

-- 
____________________________________________________
        Dann Pigdon
        GIS Archaeologist
        Melbourne, Australia

        Australian Dinosaurs:
        http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/4459/
        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
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