Re: paleonet Tyrannosaur front legs

[Carl Mehling <cosm@xxxxxxxx>]

"Top priority" and "handy" are human judgements, without which Nature does just fine. Whether or not T. rex's hands were destined for vestigiality or not is beyond our abilities to figure, as well as their actual function, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a sound evolutionary reason for their condition.
-Carl

At 01:30 PM 4/9/2005, you wrote:

To all,

I keep hearing that the front legs of a Tyrannosaur were too short to reach the mouth, but I am not sure of this.  It seems to me that if the animal bent it's head far enough downward, the front legs would be handy in removing bits of meat from the teeth, and the two front claws could serve as toothpicks.  For an animal like T-Rex keeping the teeth clear and functional would be a top priority that would contribute greatly to survival.  -- JD

Carl Mehling
Fossil Amphibian, Reptile, and Bird Collections
Division of Paleontology
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West @79th Street
New York, NY  10024
(212) 769-5849
Fax: (212) 769-5842
cosm@amnh.org