Re: Brachiosaur Defense

["Larry Febo" <larryf@capital.net>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Thom Holmes
Date: Thursday, January 27, 2000 8:02 AM



>Size, size, and size.
>
>I would guess that a slap to the side of a carnivore with a 3+ ton sauropod
>tail could do a lot of  damage. Since theropods could probably not
side-step
>too effectively, and Farlow and others have noted how disabling or even
>fatal a mere stumble could have been for a large theropod, I would think
>that a predatory dinosaur would pick its sauropod victims wisely. The sick
>and the young would probably have been the most likely targets.
>


Pardon my (probable) ignorance here, but....wouldn`t the arctometatarsaly
condition of some of these theropods allow them a "springier" step. Perhaps
enough to leap clear of a sauropod tail? Perhaps even a T-rex (at the more
massive end of the spectrum) could have had the agility.
Sorry, I missed the discussion of "large theropod tripping", so am not aware
of everyones opinions on their agility.
PS...am I misinterpreting arctometatarsality here (again??)....Dr Holtz?