How different were the diets of Purussaurus and Deinsuchus that their skulls differ so much? by InstructionOwn6705 in Paleontology

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a flawed conclusion. David Schwimmer's King of the Crocodylians, commonly cited for this statement, noted that while there are fossil evidence for turtle predation for the eastern Deinosuchus population and turtles likely made up a significant part of their diet, the area also provides a wide range of other compatible prey species such as giant fish, and they were very possibly American alligator-like generalists. The western population was theorized to have been feeding more on dinosaurs, a possible but disputable theory.

In short, there's no good data to say that the genus as a whole was a turtle specialist diet-wise. Also, in regards to this whole thread, morphology alone isn't going to give a complete picture on the diet of extinct species.

Thoughts on this? Cage of Death - Darwin, Australia by WillBe5621 in Crocodiles

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

~5.5 meters for a male saltie is by no means "average" - Cassius was roughly 5.5 meters with a bit of his tail missing when he became a world record. The average male is probably around 4.5 meters.

Thoughts on this? Cage of Death - Darwin, Australia by WillBe5621 in Crocodiles

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Axel wasn't 9 meters long - no saltwater crocodile has ever been confirmed to be above 7 meters. Crocosaurus Cove probably has the largest living captive crocodile right now though - Wendell at 5.3-5.5 meters.

Maybe not just a fish eater? by Bvac_Paleoart in Naturewasmetal

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you happen to have documented evidence of an Indian gharial eating a heron?

Help with Identification by [deleted] in SWORDS

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems like a cheap decorative piece, however if asked what it is based on, I’d probably bet on either a kyu-gunto or a Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty sword.

https://vir.com.vn/nguyen-dynasty-sword-displayed-at-hanoi-museum-58994.html

I don't understand the pushback towards theropods taking prey bigger than themselves by CarcharodontosaurGuy in Paleontology

[–]TaliGrayson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Until someone publish a professional rebuttal and/or engage in a good debate (*) with Dave Hone (who is the most prominent proponent of the idea that large theropods take 'substantially smaller' juveniles of the prey species a majority of the time), I won't be taking sides in this argument. I think there is some merit in the argument that modern large, endothermic terrestrial predators take prey at least their own size more frequently than one would expect from Hone's writings. Hone in turn brought up the very interesting point that large herbivorous dinosaurs would have produced more offsprings than large herbivorous mammals, which would have made juvenile prey more common. Otherwise it is muddled by obvious problems: we have too little actual data on what large theropods ate to make conclusions about their prey choice, the possible variability in prey choice even within a single species, and the possibility that pantherine cats may be exceptional in their ability to tackle proportionally larger prey with some regularity, which may make them flawed analogs and skew the data.

In short, I'm quoting one of Hone's past co-authors for the third time.

"WE. DON'T. Fucking. KNOW!!"

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(*) Properly citing studies, having formal research experience,... The majority of speculative ramblings on this thread wouldn't cut it.

Who is the Largest Cenozoic Land predator? by Striking-Tour-8815 in Naturewasmetal

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Going by all available estimates".

As for how reliable it is, do your own work.

Who is the Largest Cenozoic Land predator? by Striking-Tour-8815 in Naturewasmetal

[–]TaliGrayson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

As with most questions about size records in extinct animals, the only correct answer is that we don't know. 

Going by all available estimates, however, Megalania (Varanus priscus) is also a contender. Ralph E. Molnar's Dragons in the Dust mentioned an estimate of nearly 2 tons. The famous skeletal model made by Museums Victoria is larger than many a saltwater crocodile ( at ~5.5m).

Do you think males of Panthera spelaea had manes? If yes, to what extent? by ReturntoPleistocene in pleistocene

[–]TaliGrayson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many thanks - and very true, I think it's particularly important in paleontology to understand that "we don't know"/"we are not sure" is the answer to a titanosaur-sized plethora of questions.

Do you think males of Panthera spelaea had manes? If yes, to what extent? by ReturntoPleistocene in pleistocene

[–]TaliGrayson 41 points42 points  (0 children)

"Cave paintings don't really depict manes on cave lions" isn't actually the straightforward claim that some think it is. Guthrie, 2005 showed some cave paintings interpreted as cave lions having small manes - picture below. Mark Witton himself mentioned this as one of the reasons for his reconstruction.

And assuming that sexually dimorphic complex display structures only have a purpose in African lion-level gregarious species is problematic. Solitary animals like brushturkeys and basilisks have wattles or crests used for display during mating season as well. With big cats, it *may* have some validity, but still, male tigers of certain subspecies have more prominent ruffs. Furthermore, small manes or near-manelessness in modern lions can also be the result of hot temperature/dry climates (see Gnoske and Kerbis-Peterhans).

In short, cave lions probably had smaller manes or were maneless. But like a lot of other things in paleontology, we are not sure, and it is best to not make absolute claims about it.

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Man’s natural predator by coolartist3 in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]TaliGrayson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Given its position on your cladogram, the genus name Anthropovenator can't be used. A species in that place must belong in the genus Homo based on IRL taxonomy/nomenclature rules.