Re: Complete juvenile theropod unveiled in Germany

[Matthew Martyniuk <martyniuk@gmail.com>]

How would two animals in the same ecosystem occupy the same niche
without one species quickly getting out-competed? If it's a symbiotic
relationship, what's in it for _Nanotyrannus_?

IMO this is one line of evidence that shows why the idea that
_Nanotyrannus_, a "taxon" for all intents and purposes identical to
the juvenile forms of a contemporary taxon, makes no sense as a real
animal.

Matt

On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 3:35 AM, Anthony Docimo <keenir@hotmail.com> wrote:
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>> Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:39:53 -0700
>> From: saint_abyssal@yahoo.com
>> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
>> Subject: Re: Complete juvenile theropod unveiled in Germany
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>> The possibility that many of our small "coelurosaurs" are actually juveniles 
>> of larger non-coelurosaur taxa certainly bolsters Horner's claims that 
>> paleontology's current view of dinosaur biodiversity is grossly 
>> over-inflated by ontogenetic stages misidentified as distinct taxa. I think 
>> I remember David Unwin's pterosaur book describing pterosaur ecosystems as 
>> having low taxonomic diversity because juveniles occupied the ecological 
>> niches that would otherwise be taken by distinct small species. Maybe 
>> theropods had a similar life cycle. Tyrannosaur ontogeny supports the 
>> general idea; young tyrannosaurs had sharper more blade-like teeth and more 
>> cursorial body types than adult suggesting different prey preferences and 
>> therefore different niches. That's not suggesting, of course, that all small 
>> theropods were just juveniles of some larger form,
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>  Is it possible that both views are in fact correct (at least for areas which 
> were not at the time resource-poor), and while juvenile theropods held 
> different niches from their adult relatives, the juveniles held the same 
> niches as smaller species?  (possibly hunting cooperatively with them, which 
> would provide the protection of a pack from predators wanting to munch on 
> them)
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> At this hour of night, the only example* for it  that springs to mind is if, 
> for instance, young T.rex hunted alongside Nanotyrannus until they were big 
> enough to hang out with the other T.rexes.
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> * = which bears in mind fossil ages and localities...the only other theropods 
> I can think of at this hour are Giganotosaurus and Baronyx.
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