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Anonymous
>>107508 >Many thanks, Anonymous. I'm reading the PDF right now, > and am frankly a bit confused about a few details: for > instance, why compare Deinonychus to hunting dogs, when >the obvious modern day equivalent would be a big cat.
Because the authors are evaluating pack hunting, and big cats don't pack hunt.
> Also, I'm not sure if the authors were aware that the ora > has a venomous bite, while deinonychosaur sickle claws were > actually only really good for puncturing, not slashing and > tearing. Not really important for the arguent, but nagging > nonetheless.
Yes, but I'm not sure if you're aware that (or missed where the authors point out) that dromaeosaurids are no slouches when it comes to their teeth or forelimbs (see p. 112, and the references pointed out there).
Also, I'm not sure if oras are actually venomous or not, I thought they only had some kind of bacteria in their mouth, but I haven't read this yet: Fry, B. G.; N. Vidal and J. A. Norman (2006). Early evolution of the venom system in lizards and snakes. Nature 439: 584-588.
So if anyone has that and wants to upload it somewhere, I'd be grateful.
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