Re: *Oviraptor*

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

dbensen wrote:

> One question: if the oviraptors had feathers all the way down their
> arms, then how did they avoid mussing them when they used their claws?
> Or did they even eat food that would have gotten the feathers messy?
> 

Maybe they didn't avoid it, but just cleaned themselves up afterward. I've
always thought that those palatal teeth would have made great preening devices.
Male lions often stick their heads into a large carcass up to their shoulders,
despite the fact that it makes a mess of their mane. In fact manes are rather
cumbersome things that don't seem to perform anything practical (although they
may help to protect the neck during fighting). Sometimes evolution sacrifices
physical practicality in the name of visual displays (many a peacock has no
doubt been grabbed by the tail by predators). I've seen male turkeys that could
hardly see with all of the wattles adorning their heads.

-- 
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        Dann Pigdon
        GIS Archaeologist
        Melbourne, Australia

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