Re: [asa] Untestable -- Is it Science?

Interesting - apparently there is a raging debate in the literature about
whether T-Rex was a scavenger or predator. Here's how one site run by the
U. California Museum of Paleontology summarizes it (
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/tyrannosauridae.html):

There are arguments against scavenging. Most large living predators (such as
lions and hyenas) do scavenge meat happily when it is available, but most do
prefer fresh meat. Horner argues that its arms were too weak to grab prey,
but sharks, wolves, snakes, lizards and even many birds are successful
predators without using their forelimbs (if any). Whether *T.rex* was a slow
animal is tough to tell, as our dinosaur
speeds<http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/buzz/locomotion.html>page
will tell you.

What is the public to think of all this? It is suggested that you make up
your own mind; the fact is that reconstructing the behavior of extinct
animals is difficult, especially when there are no close modern relatives
with which to compare them. Tyrannosaurs may have been scavengers, predators
or both; Horner is merely presenting an opposing argument that shows that we
are not yet 100% sure what ecological niche the great tyrannosaurs filled.

 On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 12:20 AM, Bill Hamilton <
williamehamiltonjr@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I went to a lecture a number of years ago by John Horner, author of
> "Digging Dinosaurs". He has done quite a bit of work on T. Rex and talked
> about how he and his colleagues worked out the capabilities of T. Rex. and
> drew some conclusions about where it fit in the ecosystem of the time it
> lived. By identifying the places on the bones where the muscles were
> attached, they could estimate the strength in the animal's "arms",
> concluding that the T. Rex could only lift about 300 lbs. By comparing the
> length of the upper leg to the lower, they could determine that the T. Rex
> was not a fast runner. By XRaying the skull they could determine that the
> olfactory lobe was much larger than the visual lobe, which is characteristic
> of a scavenger. Horner therefore concluded that the T. Rex was more likely a
> scavenger than a predator. By careful investigation quite a bit can be
> learned about the habits of a dinosaur Horner was careful to note that his
> conclusions were tentative, but I imagine they will stand for some time.
>
> William E. (Bill) Hamilton, Ph.D. Member ASA 248.821.8156 (mobile)
> "...If God is for us, who is against us?" Rom 8:31
> http://www.bricolagia.blogspot.com/
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>
 --
David W. Opderbeck
Associate Professor of Law
Seton Hall University Law School
Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology

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Received on Mon Jun 9 08:48:16 2008