Scavenger scenario. (Letters).Everyone seems to agree that the Tyrannosaurus Tyrannosaurus (tīrăn'ōsôr`əs, tĭr–) [Gr.,=tyrant lizard], member of a family, Tyrannosauridae, of bipedal carnivorous saurischian dinosaurs characterized by having strong hind limbs, a muscular tail, and short rex Sue was seriously debilitated de·bil·i·tat·ed adj. Showing impairment of energy or strength; enfeebled. See Synonyms at weak. Adj. 1. debilitated - lacking strength or vigor asthenic, enervated, adynamic with perhaps a lifelong lameness ("Turn Your Head and Roar," SN: 12/15/01, p. 376). Peter L. Larson attributes her survival to care and feeding by group members. Is there evidence of group care for the injured among reptiles of any era? Might Sue's survival be due not to group care but simply to the fact that T. rex was a scavenger and not the terrible lizard we have been told about all these years? Lameness may not have been a serious handicap. JACK RANKIN, ROUND HILL, VA. Many paleontologists believe there is strong fossil evidence that some types of dinosaurs moved in herds, bred in colonies, or cared for their young. All of these behaviors have been observed in living reptiles, says Gordon M. Burghardt, an ethologist ethologist a person skilled in ethology. at the University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (UT), sometimes called the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UT Knoxville or UTK), is the flagship institution of the statewide land-grant University of Tennessee public university system in the American state of Tennessee. at Knoxville. For example, young green iguanas often move about in groups and sleep together, and crocodiles exhibit some parental care. However, there is no evidence that any modern reptile takes care of incapacitated in·ca·pac·i·tate tr.v. in·ca·pac·i·tat·ed, in·ca·pac·i·tat·ing, in·ca·pac·i·tates 1. To deprive of strength or ability; disable. 2. To make legally ineligible; disqualify. adult kin, says Burghardt. --S. PERKINS |
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