Comments on: Lambe’s Lazy, Scavenging Gorgosaurus http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/12/lambes-lazy-scavenging-gorgosaurus/ Where Paleontology Meets Pop Culture Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:48:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 By: Henrique Niza http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/12/lambes-lazy-scavenging-gorgosaurus/comment-page-1/#comment-5523 Henrique Niza Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:20:52 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/?p=6812#comment-5523 "Since the teeth of Gorgosaurus showed almost no signs of damage or abrasion ... the dinosaur ate only soft flesh". Isn't scavenging an antonymous of soft flesh or any flesh at all? It's a peculiar conclusion, at best. “Since the teeth of Gorgosaurus showed almost no signs of damage or abrasion … the dinosaur ate only soft flesh”.

Isn’t scavenging an antonymous of soft flesh or any flesh at all? It’s a peculiar conclusion, at best.

]]> By: JRH http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/12/lambes-lazy-scavenging-gorgosaurus/comment-page-1/#comment-5514 JRH Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:02:32 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/?p=6812#comment-5514 Actually, "choosing one extreme or the other" does make scientific sense as obligate scavenger is testable, whereas opportunist isn't. Stirring the pot gets people working on things whereas not stirring the pot, or simply agreeing with a current preconceived notion doesn't. You might check out PLoS ONE 6(2):e16574. Actually, “choosing one extreme or the other” does make scientific sense as obligate scavenger is testable, whereas opportunist isn’t. Stirring the pot gets people working on things whereas not stirring the pot, or simply agreeing with a current preconceived notion doesn’t. You might check out PLoS ONE 6(2):e16574.

]]> By: BJ Nicholls http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/12/lambes-lazy-scavenging-gorgosaurus/comment-page-1/#comment-5508 BJ Nicholls Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:11:51 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/?p=6812#comment-5508 Contemporary avian and mammalian scavengers aren't exclusively torpid and slow. I suppose that lions and other cats have a lot of low-activity downtime, but scavenging opportunities usually mean competing with other animals, and no successful scavenger makes a living just "stumbling" on random carcasses. Even reptile scavengers make that drowsy Gorgosaurus look comical. Contemporary avian and mammalian scavengers aren’t exclusively torpid and slow. I suppose that lions and other cats have a lot of low-activity downtime, but scavenging opportunities usually mean competing with other animals, and no successful scavenger makes a living just “stumbling” on random carcasses. Even reptile scavengers make that drowsy Gorgosaurus look comical.

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