Re: JP3 Thoughts (frilled Dilophosaurus revisited)

["ANN SCHMIDT" <ashmidt@flash.net>]

I'm mostly a lurker on this list but I feel I must comment.  A frill could
be for display but why would Dilophosaurus need it when it already has that
great crest?  Also wouldn't a frill on a creature that large need some
bones/stiff rods and/or muscle scars on the neck that would be relatively
apparent on the fossil?  Venom glands would leave marks on the skull as well
right?  As far as I know no such things exist.  It should also be noted that
AFAIK no large predator is known that uses venom or poison for any reason.
Not to mention that with the exception of a few birds with poisonous
feathers no close relatives (crocodilians, birds) of the dinosaurs is known
to possess toxins of any kind.
So while possible I soppose it is very unlikely and thus the chances that
Dilophosaurus or anything similar to it would be one of the few dinosaurs to
possess venom is even less likely.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Srnka" <theclaw10@home.com>
To: <alex@voyager.net>
Cc: <abritton@wmi.com.au>; <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 1:09 AM
Subject: Re: JP3 Thoughts (frilled Dilophosaurus revisited)


> I'm certainly speculating here again, but would it be unreasonable to
speculate that a neck frill might exist for sexual display? And couldn't
such a frill be utilized in juveniles and/or adults who feel threatened
secondarily
> as a defensive display? And if Dilophosaurus' ancestors originally
developed venom and frills as a defense (bad taste, scare away predators),
couldn't those adaptations be retained and applied to different use when the
larger
> species evolved? Otherwise, how do you explain snake venom? If they
developed venom originally so they would taste bad to predators, and now use
it against prey, why not Dilophosaurus?
>
> Keep in mind, I'm not trying to defend JP's depiction of Dilophosaurus'
use of frills and whatnot so much as I'm trying to figure out why the neck
frill seems to get poo-pooed so much. It still doesn't seem to me to be any
more
> unreasonable a speculation than David Peters showing dromaesaurids with
skin flaps between upper and lower arms....

>