Re: [dinosaur] Was T. rex a lion or rather a crocodile?

I thought of a "crocodile version" of T. rex as of a slow, opportunistic 
swamp dweller. Could it be a plausible lifestyle for an old, giant T. rex 
individuals? Thank you, Tom

---------- Původní e-mail ----------
Od: Dann Pigdon <[email protected]>
Komu: [email protected]
Datum: 12. 8. 2019 1:20:21
Předmět: Re: [dinosaur] Was T. rex a lion or rather a crocodile? 
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On Sun, Aug 11th, 2019 at 10:54 PM, Thomas Richard Holtz <[email protected]> 
wrote: 

> Please remember: Tyrannosaurus rex (and indeed most dinosaurs) did not 
> exist only as fully formed adults emerged from the mind of Zeus. They 
spent 
> most of their life cycle as juveniles and sub-adults. 

Given the high mortality rate associated with R-strategists, it's likely the
"average" tyrannosaur wasn't 
very large at all (possibly not much larger than a hatchling). Very large 
tyrannosaurs are likely to be over- 
represented in the fossil record due to preservational bias. 

Tyrannosaurs seem to have reached sexual maturity well before reaching their
maximum size, so having 
few very large individuals in a population likely wouldn't have had much of 
an impact on their reproductive 
success. Too many very large geriatric animals may well have been a burden 
on the population rather 
than an advantage. 

As to whether T.rex was leonine or crocodilian in nature; that depends on 
what you mean by 'crocodilian'. 
In the past there have been plenty of swift and agile terrestrial 
crocodilians that make our extant varieties 
look positively sluggish. 

-- 
Dann Pigdon 



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