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Re: Horner at the NHM

What, if any, very large raptor specimens have been discovered at or near the K-T boundary (within 2 MY) that compare to _Utahraptor_ in overall size? I'm curious because Horner must have specific genera in mind to support his hypothesis of alternative late Cretaceous top predator(s). If to date, the largest 'raptors' that have been discovered lived much earlier in the Cretaceous, then Horner must be assuming that his proposed super-predators will surface one day.

Aside from Horner's speculations, what about another possibility that has been propounded in the past, which states that _T.rex_ adopted different roles as it grew from a juvenile into an adult animal? (I forgot the term used to describe animals that inhabit multiple niches in the course of their lifetime.)

James

Mike Taylor wrote:

Hi All,

Just got back from an interesting panel discussion at the (UK) Natural
History Museum's Darwin Centre: John Horner and Norm Macleod
discussion (among other things) the recurrent scavenger/predator
thing.  They both came across as really nice guys; in particular, they
were good with the kids in the audience.  No surprise that Horner got
most of the questions -- he's the Big Name, plus poor Macleod is
handicapped by specialising in really dull foraminifera :-)  Horner
got very uncomfortable at one stage when someone in the audience kept
describing him as "the modern Baron Cuvier"!

I took the opportunity to ask him the question that's been on the list
of late: if _T. rex_ wasn't the top predator in its ecosystem, then
what was?  His answer: raptors.  Really _big_ raptors :-) I have to
say I found this profoundly unconvincing.  Even _Utahraptor_ doesn't
come in about a tonne; it's asking a lot for one-tonne animals to
_regularly_ take out eight-ton _Triceratops_ individuals (not to
mention that it was 55 million years too early!)

_/|_     _______________________________________________________________
/o ) \/  Mike Taylor  <mike@indexdata.com>  http://www.miketaylor.org.uk
)_v__/\  "You question the worthiness of my code?  I should kill you
         where you stand!" -- Klingon Programming Mantra

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