Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'ecology'.
-
The idea that sensory pits were present in Theropod dinosaurs is not a new one, but for some reason I can't find any information on them and chat GPT says the presence of these structures in dinosaurs lacks fossil evidence. Below I present sensory pits in the jaw of an alligator and in the jaw of Albertosaurus. These pits are also known to be present in the jaws of some birds. In birds and crocodilians these sensory pits are believed to be used to detect vibrations in different substrates ( water for crocodilians and wood/soil for birds) in order to enhance prey detection and capture. My idea for sensory pits in Theropod dinosaurs (the ones that had them) is that they may have been used to detect prey in rotting logs or in shallow burrows. Why would large theropods have them? It is generally believed that young theropods were obviously alot smaller than the adults and probably ate things like insects or small vertebrates. I believe it is very likely that young Theropods used these sensory pits to help them locate these small animals that would be in substrates like wood (rotting stumps?) or soil. It's possible they were able to detect vibrations in the ground from approaching animals as a defense mechanism while they slept. It seems probable to me that these sensory pits may have been retained into adulthood by animals like Albertosaurus, etc...and lost by others. Of course these are believed to be present in piscivores like Baryonyx and Spinosaurus as well, which probably would have used them to enhance their fishing abilities. I intend to do some research into this and see if these sensory pits appear to be more common in juveniles ( where available) and how wide spread they were among Theropods in addition to the implications for feeding habits, etc in these animals as they aged. I would be interested in hearing some of your ideas about this.
- 17 replies
-
- carnivore
- cretaceous
- (and 7 more)
-
Good afternoon, everyone. I'm from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and like to spend time with my son poking around in creeks and rivers. As a botany nerd and ecologist, this is typically plant or animal/insect related. However, recently I have rediscovered my love of fossils. I hadn't been out looking for years despite it always swirling around in my head. I'm looking forward to learning from the posts here! Cheers, Jenn
-
Hi all, hope you are doing well I'm a sixth form student currently studying three A Levels of English Literature, Geography and Biology. I've always wanted to be a paleontologist and whilst I appreciate it is a difficult area to get a job, my aim in life is still to break into the profession. Here in the UK it is difficult to find an undergraduate degree from a university solely for paleontology, and I feel like this would be limiting anyway should I be unsuccessful in getting a paleontological job. I thought maybe I would study something at undergraduate that leaves my employment options more open, before going to do a postgraduate in paleontology (preferably at Edinburgh university), but I wasn't sure if the undergraduates I am considering would allow me to then go into that postgrad course. I was particularly looking at studying either Zoology or Ecology, so I wasn't sure if these would allow me to then specialise in paleontology in the future?
- 1 reply
-
- ecology
- paleontology
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Large dinosaurs and small dinos dominate Mesozoic ecosystems. Medium sized creatures don't show up unless you consider teenage dinosaurs as separate species. https://www.sciencealert.com/teenage-t-rex-edged-out-smaller-dinosaur-species-says-study
-
Increased Environmental Variability Triggered Human Behavioral Change Over 300,000 Years Ago
Scylla posted a topic in Fossil News
Tool kits stayed similar from 700,000 Years ago until this climatic shift 320,000 years ago and then our tools got more diverse and sophisticated. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-turbulent-era-human-behavior-years.html#lightbox -
New paper on Appalachian Dinosaur Biogeography and Ecology
Chase B. posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hi all, I just wanted to let everyone interested in eastern North American dinosaurs know that my paper reviewing and analyzing Appalachian dinosaur faunas was published as Brownstein (2018). The full citation and doi are below. Brownstein, CD. 2018. The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia. Palaeontologia Electronica 21.1.5A: 1-56. All the best, Chase- 7 replies
-
- 10
-
- appalachia
- biogeography
-
(and 4 more)
Tagged with: