Re: Long Bone Scaling in Neosauropod Dinosaurs

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Guy Leahy writes: 

> So what about those titanosaurs which possessed armor?
>  Would they have needed armor if they were immune to
> attack by predators by size alone?  Would titanosaur
> scaling depart from isometry as a result?

A very recent paper mentioned here on the list suggested that titanosaur 
armour was only of defensive use during juvenile stages, and that as 
titanosaurs matured the scutes became less dense (to the point of being 
useless as armour). 

It's a bit like the idea that tyrannosaur forelimbs were relatively larger 
(and more useful) in juveniles, but their usefullness (and therefore their 
relative size) decreased as they matured, to the point of them becoming 
largely irrelevant to the adult animal. 

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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist              geo cities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia             heretichides.soffiles.com
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