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RE: Triassic protofeathers and fake-heads
Ken Kinman wrote:
>We are talking about dinosaurs, which quickly became the
>dominant "top end" during the Mesozoic. In this context, increased
>brain size (allowing for increasing intelligence capability) is >relevant.
Not for sauropods or hadrosaurs. In fact, I find it very difficult to take
this notion seriously.
>And the
>predators of the first dinosaurs weren't dinosaurs anyway.
I don't see why _Eoraptor_ or herrerasaurids couldn't have preyed upon
juveniles of other dinosaur species - or even their own. _Coelophysis_
apparently did - assuming the juvenile specuimen enclosed by the rib cage of
an adult represents cannibalism.
And there were fairly large-sized (6m+) carnivorous dinosaurs in the Late
Triassic: _Gojirasaurus_, _Aliwalia_, and some undescribed critters (e.g.
from South America). They might have targeted small prosauropods and
ornithischians.
>And I would think fish intelligence
>had a lot to do with it (they are pretty brainy compared to the vast
>majority of invertebrates).
I think it all started when fish starting going to schools.
:-)
Tim
------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Williams
USDA-ARS Researcher
Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50014
Phone: 515 294 9233
Fax: 515 294 3163