Re: Rough & tumble world

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <th81@umail.umd.edu>]

At 03:16 PM 3/4/99 -0600, Natasha Ramsey wrote:
>               I know I'm not a dinosaur expert, but I read John
>Horner's book and I think perhaps his meaning of calling the T-Rex "an
>opportunistic scavenger, a connoisseur of carcasses, not an aggressive
>hunter like Velociraptor."  was to make the point of just what a
>ferocious hunter Velociraptor was and that perhaps T-Rex wasn't the
>"Mighty Dinosaur King" that he has always been portrayed to be.  I know
>I would love to hear John Horner's opinion on this phrase so that his
>meaning may be know.

Jack Horner has stated on numerous occassion and in numerous media that he
interprets tyrannosaurs as being primarily or exclusively scavengers.  For
example, check:

Horner, J.R.  1994.  Steak knives, beady eyes, and tiny little arms (a
portrait of _T. rex_ as a scavenger).  Dino Fest. Paleontological Society
Special Publication No. 7, pp. 157-164.

Horner, J.R. & D. Lessem.  1993.  The Complete T. rex.  Simon & Schuster.

The Museum of the Rockies exhibit "T. rex on Trial".

The documentary "The Ultimate Guide to _T. rex" (Cine Nova Productions, with
consultant "Tim" Holtz...).

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Vertebrate Paleontologist     Webpage: http://www.geol.umd.edu
Dept. of Geology              Email:tholtz@geol.umd.edu
University of Maryland        Phone:301-405-4084
College Park, MD  20742       Fax:  301-314-9661