Re: Tyrannosaurs hunting sauropods (re to Pigdon)

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

Allen Hazen writes: 

> Dann Pigdon makes four points he thinks tell against the hypothesis that 
> Tyrannosaurs were habitual sauropod-hunters.  They all sound plausible to 
> me, but to play devil's advocate I'll comment on his second:

> > One really big problem with biting down hard on a neck (or tail for that 
> > matter) would have been the presence of a dorsal frill of spikes. They've 
> > only really been identified in one type of diplodocid, but if such 
> > keratinous (ie. non-bony, hence less likely to be preserved) spikes were 
> > common amongst sauropods in general, then they would have been a serious 
> > deterant to biting down hard.
>
> Comment: Yes, IF the Tyrannosaur was trying to bite down on the top of the 
> neck.  (The way small cats kill smaller prey.)  What if the Tyrannosaur 
> bit at the bottom of the neck, aiming to crush or destroy the windpipe 
> (the way large cats attack large prey)?

That would require the tyrannosaur to be directly underneath, and to twist 
it's head upwards somehow. Not a very stable position for a stiff-jointed, 
multi-tonne biped. 

For something with loose, mobile joints like a cat (and with long grappling 
forelimbs) such a thing is much easier. 

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Dann Pigdon
GIS / Archaeologist         http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia        http://heretichides.soffiles.com
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