RE: Rapator,the giant alvarezsaur

["Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

Brian Lauret wrote:

> I'm sure all (or most) of the people on the list know about the likely 
> alvarezsaur nature of Australia's Rapator.

I think the referral of _Rapator_ to the Alvarezsauridae first surfaced on 
this list a fews years back.  AFAIK, this referral has not yet been formally 
published (though I could be wrong on this).

> We all know it would have been a VERY big one at that (an estimated 6-metre 
> one to be exact,as opposed to any other alvarezsaur wich are mostly about 
> 1-metre long)With other alvarezsaurs being considered myrmecophages I 
> wonder,could this have counted for Rapator as well?

I had thought that the idea of myrmecophagous alvarezsaurids was still in 
the realm of speculation.  That doesn't mean it's wrong - it means that it 
is unproven until we find an alvarezsaurid specimen with preserved stomach 
contents, or similar evidence.  Dedicated ant- or termite-eaters is one 
hypothesis for the ecology of alvarezsaurids, but I've seen other 
hypotheses.  For example, alvarezsaurids may have used their stubby 
forelimbs to strip bark off trees to access wood-boring insects.  Or tear 
open bee hives for the honey and larvae inside: 
http://www.cmnh.org/dinoarch/2001Nov/msg00341.html


> So is Rapator considered a myrmecophage or rather a predator using it's 
> nasty monoclawed hands to hack into larger,vertebrate,prey?

Perhaps it did use its claws to hack into vertebrate prey - if the prey was 
already dead.  Maybe alvarezsaurids were scavengers that used their claws to 
rip open carcasses. Maybe maybe maybe...  Speculating on the life habits of 
alvarezsaurids is enormous fun, but we need a lot more evidence, as I'm sure 
you'd agree.  Alvarezsaurids are very interesting critters, with short 
mole-like claws forelimbs stuck onto a gracile, long-legged cursor.



Tim

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