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Extinct Animal Questions
Topic Started: Nov 26 2013, 10:24 PM (193,427 Views)
Furka
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1- Nope
2- they were rich in blood vessels, so it's likely
3- not sure, it's short legs wouldn't propel much, and the bony armour will make it heavy ... I could be wrong tho.
4- no idea
5- chickens and ducks can be trained to an extent (like getting in and out of their shelter at certain times of te day) so I don't see why not.
6- no idea, although I fear it could cause spinal damage due to its own weight
7- yes
8- unlikely, its body wasn't much flexible due to that sail
9- not sure, I usually see it more as a signal to other spinos to stay out of the fishing area
10- do you mean parthenogenesis ? I think it could have been present in some species (and not just theropods)
11- arboreal ones like Microraptor could, but it doesn't seem likely for more terrestrial species
12- don't think so, a neck has many vulnerable structures, and AFAIk they didn't have the adaptations for giraffe fighting style.
13- like a chameleon ? that's highly speculative ... but having different coats for different times of years, or mating skins, sounds very likely.
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

Paleop
Jan 26 2015, 09:26 PM
So many Questions, where to start?
1. is sinornithosaurus still considered possible for venom?
2. could stegosaurus pump blood into it's plates like in wwd?
3.could Ankylosaurus swim using it's wide, gassy midsection for buoyancy?
4. if triceratops had keratin coated horns could they have been the same color as white tailed deer antlers?
5.could Velociraptor be trainable ?
6.could t rex roll over when laying down?
7. would albinism and melanism be present?
8. Could spinosaurus breach like a crocodile?
9. could the sail have been used for under water stability or like a ship's sail?
10. do you think theropods may have lay eggs without pregnation like chickens?
11. could dromaeosaurs climb trees to nest?
12. sauropod necks as weapons?
13. do you think any dinosaurs could change color?
14.did I ask too many questions? :D

Thanks for answers in advance
In order:

1) No. The elongated "fangs" turned out to be normal teeth that slipped out of their sockets. The grooves on them connected to nothing and were present among several other species.
2) It seems fairly likely. WWD didn't exactly make up that hypothesis on the spot and several studies over the past 20 odd years seems to support the idea that it could, the plates being highly vascularised and stuff.
3) All dinosaurs can swim to some degree. Ankylosaurs were likely no different. Gassy wouldn't be the mechanism I'd rely on for this theory, given that all living organisms naturally float anyway. But given its short, robust legs, and wide body, it should actually particularly good at it.
4) Sure, why not.
5) Any vertebrate is trainable to some degree if you know what yer doin.
6) Yeah it's reasonable to assume they could. Probably didn't do that in their sleep but if they wanted a mud or dust bath, I'm sure it'd help reach those parts of its back it can't scratch.
7) Yeah, but they'd be extremely rare, especially albinism. Melanism at least can be useful for forest dwelling species, hence why "black panthers" are a regularly occurring thing in the rainforest habitats of leopards and jaguars. Leucism and hypopigmentation (piebaldness) are probably more likely to occur than albinism though, since as a genetic trait, it's less detrimental. Albino animals are more succeptable to bad eyesight, bad sunburns and predators. Hypothetical captive extinct species could very well exhibit all these genetic traits and more. It's a rarely explored subject in paleoart, but you do get some examples of art depicting genetic anomalies.
8) No. No I don't think it could. Remember, crocs use the combined power of their HUGE tails, their bodies AND their legs in one explosive burst of energy at once, and even the largest ones get about 2/3 of their bodies out of the water. Spinosaurus may not have been able to do that. Most of its swimming power comes from its legs, the tail probably wasn't flexible enough or strong enough to push the entire animal forward, its torso was very rigid and comparatively unhydrodynamic. So between the location of its propulsion and the stiff tail and body, Spinosaurus probably didn't even have the capacity to actually face vertically, let alone power most of its body out of the water. Saying that, I'd be willing to bet a Deinosuchus, Sarcosuchus or Purussaurus could probably only get about 1/2 their bodies out of the water, given the exponential weight increase of them being VAST compared to the largest of today's crocs. But that's still a 6m water clearance. And crocs are terrifying even at a 5ft clearance (trust me on this, I've actually freakin been there). But Spino? Nah, not really.
9) Not sure if you meant sail, in which case you'd be making a comparison to its capacity to use wind as propulsion, or if you meant the keel, in which case, yes, underwater stability. I think both are very unlikely, simply because there are terrestrial animals that also have organs (Ouranosaurus for example), and because comparatively few aquatic amniotes actually have stabilising dorsal fins. If anything, UNDERWATER a sail of that size is seriously detrimental. Imagine trying to actually turn a vertically placed billboard underwater and you'll see what I mean.
10) Well chickens ARE theropods. But chickens are also selectively bred to do so. But then other reptile clades are often at risk of being eggbound. Honestly this could go either way. But at least one theropod DID do this - the chicken.
11) Not to nest, no. We already have some evidence of ground nesting deinonychosaurs. I can't remember what species it was, but the nest was of the "classic mound of dirt with a crater in the middle" style IIRC. I'll have to double check that though.
12) No. Definitely not. Their necks were proportionally very flimsy compared to giraffes, and their heads were far too lightweight to be swung at their opponents without being smashed to bits.
13) Define changing colour. Do you wish to imply that they changed colour as they aged? Or perhaps shed and regrew feathers depending on seasons? Or do you mean using skin pigmentation like chameleons or cuttlefish? Or simply blushing when they're angry. Because some of these concepts are far more likely, perhaps even borderline certain, compared to others.
14) NO! NO SUCH THING!
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Even
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8) adding to what DG said, there's still a possibility of a more beefy tail, at least from what we know from Dakota the Edmontosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Carnotaurus' tails... There's a lot more soft tissue covering the tails of these dinosaurs than what the mere bones have been implying (or in the case of Carnotaurus and Tyrannosaurus, actually the bones themselves imply that large muscle attachments are there)
11) adding to (and perhaps going against) what DG said, we still don't know what those more miniscule, arboreal dromaeosaurs are doing
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Incinerox
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Āeksiot Zaldrīzoti

Even
Jan 27 2015, 10:05 AM
8) adding to what DG said, there's still a possibility of a more beefy tail, at least from what we know from Dakota the Edmontosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Carnotaurus' tails... There's a lot more soft tissue covering the tails of these dinosaurs than what the mere bones have been implying (or in the case of Carnotaurus and Tyrannosaurus, actually the bones themselves imply that large muscle attachments are there)
11) adding to (and perhaps going against) what DG said, we still don't know what those more miniscule, arboreal dromaeosaurs are doing
My response took the beefy muscle studies into consideration. It wasn't so much there being more muscle than the bones implied. It was that restorations were under-muscling their dinosaurs and not doing it properly. And again, it doesn't change the fact that the tail itself wouldn't have been capable of that kind of propulsion.

But you raise a good point for microraptor type things. They may very well have made nests in the holes of trees or something. But you have to remember that ground nesting is the basal trait of ALL living birds, and our only concrete evidence of raptor nests are indeed on the ground.
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babehunter1324
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What was the largest Dimetrodon species?

Some sources cite D. angelensis as the largest species while other claim that the largest species is D. grandis...

Also about their maximum size... wikipedia claims that D. angelensis reached 4,6 meters in lenght and around 200 kg (which I think to be a bit low for a 4.6 meters long animal but well...) but other sources put it at little over 3 meters.

It is so hard to find info about any prehistoric animal that isn't either a Dinosaur or megafauna from the Pleistiocene :roll: .
Edited by babehunter1324, Jan 27 2015, 04:22 PM.
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SamtheMan
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I thought I'd ask a few things as well while we're still on the topic of arboreal dromaeosaurids.

1. It seems pretty conclusive that smaller species like Microraptor were arboreal, but what is the consensus on mid-sized to larger species? As was mentioned before, it seems that the larger ones (Utahraptor, etc.) would nest on the ground but couldn't young ones climb trees? Couldn't the adults climb as well if there was motivation to do so (like how adult lions can climb trees if the trees are large enough and if there a kill stashed by a leopard in the lower branches)? As for the mid-sized ones like Acheroraptor and Balaur, could they climb and nest in trees if the trees were large enough?

2. Since they have sickle-claws as well, do we know if Troodontids like Troodon could climb and nest in trees that were large enough?

Thanks again!
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babehunter1324
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SamtheMan
Jan 27 2015, 04:23 PM
I thought I'd ask a few things as well while we're still on the topic of arboreal dromaeosaurids.

1. It seems pretty conclusive that smaller species like Microraptor were arboreal, but what is the consensus on mid-sized to larger species? As was mentioned before, it seems that the larger ones (Utahraptor, etc.) would nest on the ground but couldn't young ones climb trees? Couldn't the adults climb as well if there was motivation to do so (like how adult lions can climb trees if the trees are large enough and if there a kill stashed by a leopard in the lower branches)? As for the mid-sized ones like Acheroraptor and Balaur, could they climb and nest in trees if the trees were large enough?

2. Since they have sickle-claws as well, do we know if Troodontids like Troodon could climb and nest in trees that were large enough?

Thanks again!
1. I don't think there's enough evidence to proof wheter they did or they didn't.

2. I think in Troodon case in particular it is pretty well settled that it nested on the ground (see Egg Mountain in Montana)
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CyborgIguana
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Yup, IIRC a Troodon nest was discovered there in addition to the Maiasaura nests IIRC (another case of a species stereotyped as a nest-raider that was potentially a nurturing parent).
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Paleop
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Paleopterix

What I meant by color changing was generalized but you brought up good points

what I had in mind was a bit more like changing from one color to another but limited to those 2 colors brown to green
( I got that idea from anoles but I don't know if it is a misconception if anoles change color.

could some dinos possibly have..
1.Sprayed like a skunk
2.played possum
3.acted injured like a killdeer
4.gained toxins in their filaments through what they eat (I heard some birds are poisonous because of this )
5.mimiced others (idea from Dinosaur Island 2015/2014 I recommend the trailer, fluffy t rex ftw!)
6.hung around larger dinosaurs like sharks and remora (tiny predators and large predators)
7.Pronged like a gazelle

8.also do you think Tyrannosaurs could have courted potential mates with gifts such as logs or kills
9.or danced (not like a manikin bird)
Edited by Paleop, Jan 27 2015, 06:05 PM.
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CyborgIguana
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There's no evidence for or against any of that AFAIK. It's all fair game as far as speculation goes.
Edited by CyborgIguana, Jan 27 2015, 06:06 PM.
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Posted Image Guat
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What's the possibility that Tyrannosaurs congregated in leks and attracted mates their by strutting and inflating air sacks and their esophagus with air like a sage grouse.
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Paleop
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Paleopterix

Speaking of T rex, what areas are considered feathered, cause I heard scales were on it's legs and tail

1.I have also heard about sauroloaphus having a striped tail (I believe Philly's projects)
are there any other skin or possible color revealing fossils?(from hadrosaurs)

2.here was dimorphism between bull and (3.) T. rex how great would it be? and would One be built proportionally bulkier?

3.what are a female t rex, and a 'pack' of t rex called?

4.would it be likely large theropods would have build ground nests out of logs and smaller branches?(think big bird nest)

5.since t rex got rid of waste like a bird would it have had to mark It's terotory by leaving scratches on trees?

6.what ZT2 biomes (including RR) are applicable to Maastrichian North America?

7.are all of the zt2 dinosaurs under sized in proportion to their real life counterparts? t rex looks about the right size and kentro looks oversized( I thought it might be an interesting question since it applies both to ZT2 and paleontology)
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CyborgIguana
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AVCDPS
Jan 27 2015, 09:26 PM
What's the possibility that Tyrannosaurs congregated in leks and attracted mates their by strutting and inflating air sacks and their esophagus with air like a sage grouse.
It's not impossible, but a sage grouse probably isn't the best behavioural model for large tyrannosaurs.
Edited by CyborgIguana, Jan 27 2015, 10:04 PM.
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Posted Image Guat
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Hmmm. So how would Tyrannosaurs attract their mates?
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BossAggron
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Formerly Dilophoraptor

AVCDPS
Jan 27 2015, 10:08 PM
Hmmm. So how would Tyrannosaurs attract their mates?
I personally go for a brightly coloured face and a dance.
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