Re: JFC-Bloodiest Battle ??

[Mike Habib <habib@jhmi.edu>]

> Allosaurus, like Sinraptor and Monolophosaurus, has an exceedingly  
> narrow preorbital region. All three are like a pair of scissors and  
> quite unlike Tyrannosaurus with arched and fused nasals. I doubt  
> Allosaurus was capable of sustaining great stresses, especially  
> given the extensive pneumatic system enclosed in the narrow skull.  
> Given the abundance of Morrison sauropods, Allosaurus might have  
> been primarily a scavenger, rather than a predator, although that is  
> pretty much am waving.  Jurassic Scavenger Club anyone?

An open skull construction need not mean that the maximum loads are  
low - depending on the particular strain distribution, a kinetic skull  
can often take fairly substantial loads without failure.  A more  
heavily built skull may indeed be stronger still, but I would be  
hesitant to assume that a more open, mobile skull morphology entails  
carrion feeding.  Varanids, for example, have a very open skull  
construction, with a high degree of cranial kinesis, and yet are  
active predators of a range of prey items.

Cheers,

--Mike H.


Michael Habib, M.S.
PhD. Candidate
Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
1830 E. Monument Street
Baltimore, MD 21205
(443) 280-0181
habib@jhmi.edu