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Having watched National geographic footage of African crocs taking
wildebeest at river edges, I would suspect that very large crocs, such as
Deinosuchus, were probably the top (super) predators in continental
ecosystems. A T. rex, grabbed by the snout while taking a drink, dragged
into the water, and subjected to the death roll, would probably not have
had much of a chance.
Of course, this heretical suggestion that dinosaurs were not the greatest
and meanest vertebrates of all time might bring me to the attention of the
Royal Office of the Dinosaurian Inquisition, in which case I will recant.
Dan
_______________________
Daniel J. Chure, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Dinosaur National Monument
Box 128
Jensen UT 84035 USA
ph: 435-781-7703
dan_chure@nps.gov
David
Kopaska-Merkel To: "paleonet@nhm.ac.uk"
<davidkm@gsa.st <paleonet@nhm.ac.uk>
ate.al.us> cc: (bcc: Dan Chure/DINO/NPS)
Subject: paleonet RE:
07/19/2001 mosasaurs
07:09 AM MDT
Mike Everhart said:
So, you ask, what's my point? .... Well, for two creatures that were
"Kings" of very different worlds, they don't seem that much different
from each other. But, mostly I'm wondering why mosasaurs are so easy to
ignore when they were probably the most successful group of predators
ever to inhabit the oceans of the Earth. It can't be just because they
lived in the ocean. I mean, "Shamu", "Flipper" and "Free Willie" are
doing okay. Even sharks get more respect! Gotta find a better press
agent!!
Tongue in cheek, :-)
I think it is because mosasaurs didn't look weird enough. Plesiosaurs, T.
rex and others look alien; mosasaurs look like a cross between a lizard and
a fish. They don't have any outre body parts to marvel over, at least to
the casual observer. They're big, but we have big sea creatures now;
they're dangerous, but ditto. Nothing makes them stand out and capture the
imaginations of the average person. History may have something to do with
it too. If someone had ever tried hard to make the public excited about
mosasaurs, the way Cope and Marsh and contemporaries did about large
dinosaurs (and many others since about various creatures), maybe mosasaurs
would get more respect today. Just my 2 cents.
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Head, Ground Water Section
Geological Survey of Alabama
420 Hackberry Ln. [no USPS delivery]
PO Box 869999
Tuscaloosa AL 35486-6999
(205) 349-2852
FAX (205) 349-2861
www.gsa.state.al.us
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From: David Kopaska-Merkel <davidkm@gsa.state.al.us>
To: "paleonet@nhm.ac.uk" <paleonet@nhm.ac.uk>
Subject: paleonet RE: mosasaurs
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 07:38:56 -0500
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