Re: Penguins And Rexes

[frank bliss <frank@blissnet.com>]

If they could, the snout would be prone to abrasion lifting so much 
weight.  An injured snout would likely be the site of potentially 
reoccurring fungal infections just like modern reptiles that injure 
their snout against the glass in a cage.  Scarring on the soft tissue 
is a given but whether this would leave something for the 
paleopathologist to see on fossils is a good question that I can't 
answer.  Would the counterbalance of a swinging large heavy tail along 
with strong legs (with pretty good traction) be enough to get up?  Just 
watch a cat swing it's tail around and the net effect.  A penquin 
doesn't have those advantages. (No tail, no traction, no long, very 
strong legs.)  It all may be speculation without tell tail signs of 
repeated snout infection (which could be from feeding or fighting 
injuries too) or a very fortuitous trace fossil set.  Interesting 
concept though. Perhaps they used what ever works much like us in a bad 
balance situation.
Frank Bliss
MS Biostratigraphy
Weston, Wyoming


On Aug 11, 2005, at 9:49 PM, Richard W. Travsky wrote:

> Saw "March of the Penguins" earlier this week, and noted something I
> hadn't before about penguins (not unexpected when they're on screen
> in front of you for almost 2 hours).
>
> They had two ways of getting up when traveling on their bellies.
>
> One, obviously, pushing up on their flipper arms.
>
> The other was pushing up with their beaks, with no arm usage.
>
> So, question - In the past there's been mention in the list of how
> rexes got up, what with those tiny arms and all. I don't recall if
> anyone proposed pushing up with their jaws. That would seem like
> a lot of weight to raise. Do their jaws look sturdy enough to
> do that? Do their jaws show signs of being used in this fashion?