There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
06-17-2015, 10:38 AM( This post was last modified: 06-17-2015, 10:41 AM by GrizzlyClaws )
(06-17-2015, 09:13 AM)'GuateGojira' Wrote: Call me biased if you like, but I think that the best analogy for T. rex is the Bengal tiger. Why? well, check they ecology: In the last part of the Cretaceous of north America, the T. rex was the largest and more powerful predator, unchallenged by anyone, and the largest competitor was Nanotyrannus, IF you think that it was another species. If not, the next largest predator were the Dromaeosaurus! In this context they look like India, where the second largest predator is the leopard and they are nothing for a mighty tiger, also the dholes are pack hunters like Dromaeosaurus, although the difference in weight is ridiculous in this case (tiger 260 kg - dhole 15 kg; Tyrannosaurus 8 ton - Dromaeosaurus 30 kg [img]images/smilies/exclamation.gif[/img]).
Like in India, larger prey were scarse, with only a few Alamosaurus (gaur-buffalo) over the area, but most prey were smaller than T.rex, with the exception of Ankilosaurus (wild boar) and the mighty Triceratops (Sambar) which were about the same weight.
All the evidence suggest that T. rex was a perfect predator, with a huge brain, large eyes with perfect stereoscopic vision, a great olfactory sense and the most powerful jaws in the land animals. Yes, the arms were short, but if we compare other giant carnivores, ALL have smaller arms, even those of Giganotosaurus are ridiculously small too.
For me, T.rex is perfectly developed predator, created to kill by ambush and direct contact.
I think the giant T. rex specimen such the UCMP 137538 is like the Ngandong tiger for the Tyrannosaurus family.
T. rex: big teeth, lb for lb stronger bite, loner, proportionally shorter skull, and few giant specimens such as UCMP 137538 have helped it to retain its prestige against its Carcharodontosauridae rivals such as the Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus.
Tiger: big teeth, lb for lb stronger bite, loner, proportionally shorter skull, and few giant specimens from China and Indonesia have helped it to retain its prestige against its lion clade rivals such as the American Lion and Cave Lion.
So T. rex and Tiger are indeed the best analogy for each other.