Re: Tyrannosaurs with leathery skin, etc.

[TomHopp@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/27/99 , Larry Dunn wrote:

<< So, assuming it had feathers when newly-hatched as is currently being 
knocked about (a big assumption), and then shed its feathers as it grew, what 
would be left skinwise on an adult animal?  Animals don't develop scales as 
they age, do they?  Does this lead to elephant-skinned tyrannosaurs?
    Further to this, if _T. rex_ chicks (or whatever the hell they are 
called) had feathers for insulation, how would "non-coelurosaur" theropod 
chicks be any different in terms of a need for feathers?>>

Good questions. As I recall, there are some birds which have feathery-tipped 
scales on their legs, and these either get more or less feathery as they 
mature, I forget which. That might be a starting place to try gaining some 
data on the subject. Regarding more primitive theropods, I like the idea that 
bipedalism itself requires warm-bloodedness (was this a Bakkerism?), as a 
biped would otherwise tend to slow down and fall over when cold. You can draw 
your own conclusions, all the way back to Herrerasaurus, from there.
- Tom Hopp