Re: Did We Get Dinosaurs' Noses Wrong? OPINION (Stanford)

[Michael Bruce Habib <mbh3q@cms.mail.virginia.edu>]

> III (Confusion, and More Questions):  but, all these
> mammals have their nostrils at the very tip of the
> snout as well!  And they all get messy during attack
> and carcass grubbing.  The same for the only
> comparable reptile, Komodo dragons
> (http://www.amazilia.net/images/Herps/Lizard/komodo6.JPG).

An interesting point came to mind when you mentioned the 
Komodo dragon, as some other species within Varanus have 
nostrils further back.  Basically, within this genus, you 
find nostrils at a number of different positions, but all 
monitors are carnivorous.  So, while the nostrils have 
about the same position in all cats and dogs, we can see 
some variation in the monitors, despite the fact they are 
all predators.  That being the case, I would tend to doubt 
that carnivory determines nostril placement, or selects for 
nostrils of different locations.  Other factors, such as 
semi-aquatic behavior, or burrowing, etc. seem to be more 
important.




Michael Habib
mbh3q@virginia.edu
Student, Biology Department
University of Virginia