RE: T rex bites your bum

[John Hunt <john.bass@ntlworld.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu] On Behalf Of
TooTs
Sent: 23 May 2005 00:04
To: DML
Subject: Re: T rex bites your bum


----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>
To: <dinosaur@usc.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 12:10 AM
Subject: Re: T rex bites your bum


Is that duckbill DMNH 1943? 

No it is a different specimen.

I agree with the large response from the list that waiting for infection to
disable the prey was unlikely.

However, severe bleeding, which causes shock, and trauma to the tail that
anchored muscles for locomotion, could have incapacitated the prey to enable
a kill to be made shortly after.

There has been much speculation regarding the speed or otherwise of
tyrannosaurs but I have not noticed much research into the locomotive
abilities of the potential prey.  What were the relative proportions of
femur, tibia and metatarsals of hadrosaurs (I have noticed that the long
metatarsals of tyrannosaurs are often overlooked in arguments concerning
limb proportions)?

Surely tyrannosaurs only needed to be a bit faster than hadrosaurs to catch
one after a moderate chase, and if the tyrannosaur was running out of gas
then a speculative bite to the tail may have been used.

I am minded of the Little Das episode of Dinosaur Planet, although I found
it frustrating that the Daspletosaurus could not catch the limping
hadrosaur.