Re: T rex bites your bum

[Phil Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

On Mon, 23 May 2005 01:04:19 +0200 TooTs <DragonsClaw@gmx.net> writes:
> 
--
> Afterwards the monitor 
> lizard
> would just follow it's victim, sometimes for days, until shock, 
> blood loss
> and the infection did the job.


I read this "following strategy" all the time (Horner, Abler, Bakker,
Curie have repeated this for years), but what is the original source for
the info?  I agree that Komodo Dragon teeth are efficient innoculation
devices, and I agree that infection from bites is a frequent mode of
death for Komodo prey items, but is it really true that a Komodo will
spend days following a *specific* infected individual?

Following a dying individual around for days seems like a *huge* waste of
calories.  Why should it matter which lizard originally infected the
prey?  Komodos have an excellent sense of smell, therefore  zeroing-in on
the azimuth of a rotting corpse shouldn't be a problem for a lazy lizard.

BTW:  Does anyone know if the monitor lizard from the Hell Creek
Formation, _Palaeosaniwa canadensis_ Gilmore 1928, had serrated teeth?

<pb>
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