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Re: Re theropod scavenging



 
One of the most evocative descriptions of the tyrannosaurids I've ever
come across dubbed them "land sharks", and it's quite easy to imagine
these creatures accelerating through a clearing and crashing into the
side of a grazing dino with their head down & mouth wide.
This is what Allosaurus did, according to the latest biomechanics study, but Tyrannosaurus has a pretty different skull.
The arms appear to have been robust enough to still serve some
function, but I can't imagine them being used in predation - 7 tonnes
maybe just 4
of teeth barrelling into your prey will do most of the work ;-)
[...] Among living species, the Komodo Dragon is the best analogue and komodoensis will track wounded (and poisoned prey) for considerable periods until blood loss and septicemia overcome it. Of course, this is only a viable tactic for top predators,
And for cold-blooded ones at that. Said lizard at least sometimes follows its prey for 15 days. An endotherm would get pretty hungry and impatient in that time.
The same reasoning has been applied to ziphodont and supposedly terrestrial crocodiles.
Why "supposedly"?