Dino Russ (R.J. Jacobson)
Another in the series of Step into Reading (ready for chapters, Step 5). In
this book the author takes the reader into the world of Tyrannosaurus rex
and first imagines two scenes, one where T. rex finds a rotten corpse of
Anatotitan and proceeds to scavenge it, then another where a T. rex kills a
live Anatotitan and proceeds to eat it. Then having set the stage Dr. Holtz
discusses modern meat eaters which kill their prey and those which scavenge
and then begins his analysis of T. rex to see if it is possible to surmise
which T. rex did (kill or scavenge). In light of recent discussion on how
T. rex got its prey this book brings the young reader into the exciting
world of paleontology and some of the current issues in the field of
dinosaur paleontology.
Dr. Holtz then proceeds to show how good science (not feelings about a very
popular dinosaur) may help us determine the answer to this current question
about how T. rex obtained prey. He first sets up the popular argument that
T. rex was a scavenger based on: 1) "small" eyes -- so it could not see
well, 2) had a large smelling area in brain --- so it probably sniffed for
carrion, like a vulture, 3) Its arms were too tiny to catch food, 4) Its
teeth were built for crushing bones and not for slicing meat, 5) Its legs
were too short for it to have run fast. He then proceeds to examine these
conclusions and see if the fossil evidence really supports these
conclusions or not....
Then Dr. Holtz proceeds to show that T. Rex 's skeleton gives us plenty of
evidence that it was not a "scavenger only" by showing the reader that:
- The eyes of T. rex only look beady, but instead were actually quite
large.
- The large "smelling" area of T. rex's brain was also useful to a
hunter, not just a scavenger
- The small arms of T. rex were likely useless but many living hungers
use only their jaws to capture and kill food.
- The teeth of T. rex were not good for slicing but did do a good job
in biting huge chunks of meat out of their struggling victims (often
leading to their death and then allowing T. rex to feed).
- The legs of T. rex were better built for running than those of any of
its contemporary plant-eating prey.
He then concludes by pointing out that many carnivores today are both
scavengers and hunters, and will take prey by which ever means is available
to them. And then finally that he concludes T. rex also did both and that
the evidence from the bones supports such a reasonable inference.
I can definitely recommend this book for the young reader which will get
them into the exciting world of the science of dinosaur paleontology and
one of the hottest topics in the field -- was T. rex a scavenger or hunter? (Dino Russ's Lair)