Wherein I attempt a bit of humor


A recent paper (Pahl & Ruedas, in press at this time) suggested that large carnosaurs from the Morrison Formation would have preferrentially or obligately been scavengers, but because they were also the largest theropods of the region, they would have to have been “apex” scavengers.

Ignoring for a second that scavenging doesn’t involve anything about being top of a trophic web (virtually all animals do it, for instance, and additionally, sounds like it would require there being a trophic cascade of scavengers that die to then be scavenged by yet smaller animals to work), there’s several severe anatomical issues with this.

To which I try to explain with humor in a comic fashion.

References

Pahl, C. C. & Ruedas, L. A. 2021 (in press). Carnosaurs as apex scavengers: Agent-based simulations reveal possible vulture analogues in Late Jurassic dinosaurs. Ecological Modelling 458.

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1 Response to Wherein I attempt a bit of humor

  1. palpatine505 says:

    I love this comic you’ve made. Well-done. Please do make more of these.

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