Re: Theropod limbs - how mobile?

["Steven Coombs" <gasperex@hotmail.com>]

> 300 LBS = ?150 Kgs. Impressive as that is in human terms, it is weak in
> T.rex terms. T.rex's would weigh between four and eight tonnes
> (depending on the estimate and the individual); when it moved or stood
> up we are looking at many tonnes of force, not kilograms (or LBS). I
> can't see T.rex's arms being used to hold a female during mating, they
> would be ripped off. As for gripping carcasses, why? Why would it want
> to hold a carcass to it's chest? Even if it did, it could only hold
> relatively small chunks, because again, it's prey were also multi-tonne
> animals.
>
> Is it possible that the heavy musculature on tyrannosaurid arms was
> simply retained from ancestors, and didn't serve any function?

I don't agree with it being non-functional, even though its pretty well 
muscled. For it gripping onto carcasses, to possible role it over on the 
other side (Where the meat is more tender, T.rex would have to keep his 
teeth, why would he go on and break everyone), I know that the jaws of T.rex 
were very strong. Its ancestors like the primitive Eotyrannus had arms that 
were long and slender, until it began to reach a point where the arms began 
getting smaller, but a lot stronger as you see that T.rex was really the end 
product. It was probably not to do everything, but small things, lifting 
itself with the help of its hindlimbs just to ease its upper body up from 
the ground? There's no evidence in fossil impressions that it did or is 
their something that already did this?


Steven Coombs
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Steven's Dinosaurs: http://stevensdinosaurs1.tripod.com (New)


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