Re: Velociraptor v. Protoceratops?

[Mickey Rowe <rowe@psych.ucsb.edu>]

Typical glitch held this back... -- MPR

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Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 16:42:08 -0400
From: Michael Habib <mbh3q@virginia.edu>
To: TomHopp@aol.com
CC: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Velociraptor v. Protoceratops?
References: <d5.a725fa5.28a424b6@aol.com>

Question:  Is there any possibility that the Velociraptor specimen was not 
alone?

The Protoceratops is significantly larger than the Velociraptor individual.  It
seems, then, that it would not be out of the realm of possibility that one or 
two
other Velociraptor individuals may have been present and helped to dispatch the
Protoceratops.  In this scenario the downed Velociraptor was either killed in 
the
battle (a giant snapping turtle on speed is no laughing matter) or badly maimed
and held by the dying/dead Protoceratops when the storm/ flood or [insert nasty
desert disaster of your choice] approached.  Anything uninjured would tend to 
get
out of the way, and so any other Velociraptor individuals would have fled, 
having
only had time to eat the forelimbs, chew on the side a little, etc...

There is not much evidence for this line of reasoning other than the size
difference and the lack of Protoceratops parts, but this is enough to at least
consider the possibility.

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