Spinosaurus- The Aquatic Reptile

[Brachiosaurus]

Erm... speculative?
Worthy of All Yesterdays.

Nightmare fuel at its finest X)

[Splonkadumpocus]

This reminds me of an alternative hypothesis proposed a while back. It suggested that Baryonyx and its kin were actually not fish eaters, but their long snouts had evolved so they could stick them far into the cavities of rotting carrion. I remember reading it in "Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight" (great book btw).

Not sure what to think about it though

Certainly not unreasonable and not as far fetched as the above image for sure! There is a good amount of evidence for fish eating in spinosaurs though.

Doesn't mean they couldn't have scavenged as well. After all, seagulls do both. And Baryonyx had some Iguanodon material preserved in its stomach contents as well as fish scales, so clearly they weren't too picky.

[tyrantqueen]

This reminds me of an alternative hypothesis proposed a while back. It suggested that Baryonyx and its kin were actually not fish eaters, but their long snouts had evolved so they could stick them far into the cavities of rotting carrion. I remember reading it in "Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight" (great book btw).

Not sure what to think about it though

Certainly not unreasonable and not as far fetched as the above image for sure! There is a good amount of evidence for fish eating in spinosaurs though.

Doesn't mean they couldn't have scavenged as well. After all, seagulls do both. And Baryonyx had some Iguanodon material preserved in its stomach contents as well as fish scales, so clearly they weren't too picky.

What if it had been scavenging dead fish? Like ones that had been washed up on the shoreline.

[DeadToothCrackKnuckle]

You guys do realize the artist made this for fun, right?

[Gwangi]

This reminds me of an alternative hypothesis proposed a while back. It suggested that Baryonyx and its kin were actually not fish eaters, but their long snouts had evolved so they could stick them far into the cavities of rotting carrion. I remember reading it in "Dinosaurs of the Isle of Wight" (great book btw).

Not sure what to think about it though

Certainly not unreasonable and not as far fetched as the above image for sure! There is a good amount of evidence for fish eating in spinosaurs though.

Doesn't mean they couldn't have scavenged as well. After all, seagulls do both. And Baryonyx had some Iguanodon material preserved in its stomach contents as well as fish scales, so clearly they weren't too picky.

Nope, it certainly doesn't and I didn't mean to imply that. I don't doubt that spinosaurs ate other things aside from fish, I just think as far as evolving that long snout goes it evolved for fish eating primarily, not scavenging.

[Ultimatedinoking]

Erm... speculative?
Worthy of All Yesterdays.

anyone have a problem with a (speculative) legless marine animal having fully formed hips?

[tyrantqueen]

anyone have a problem with a (speculative) legless marine animal having fully formed hips?

Guess the original artist made a brain fart.

[Ultimatedinoking]

anyone have a problem with a (speculative) legless marine animal having fully formed hips?

Guess the original artist made a brain fart.

ya, I suppose so.

[Hermes888]

*snip*

Erm... speculative?
Worthy of All Yesterdays.

anyone have a problem with a (speculative) legless marine animal having fully formed hips?

This isn't so much speculative as much as it is "completely removing the legs and adding some features to make it resemble a seal."
While All Yesterdays has some wild speculation, it is at least grounded in logic. Removing the legs (and leaving the hips) is not reasonable speculation at all.

[Ultimatedinoking]

Don't forge the teeth hanging from the fake nose!

[Newt]

I hope nobody minds if a newbie jumps in!

Regarding spinosaurs as carrion eaters: no doubt they did opportunistically take carrion, but the "carcass probing" hypothesis doesn't make sense to me.  Just look at this skull and imagine using it that way:



First, if you're going to jab your mouth into a resistant substance, a blunt tip is counterproductive.  Second, the long teeth cannot be brought into play without opening the mouth quite a bit- so now you've got your slender snout stuck in to a slab of meat and have to open it- that's a recipe for a broken nose.  Third, speaking of the teeth, they're conical- great for piercing and holding struggling prey, terrible for cutting free gobbets of flesh- shearing teeth or a hooked beak attached to stout jaws are what you want for that.  Fourth, why the heck are you using your face to get at those tasty innards when you have these things?



You could get at any part of a carcass with those; no needle-nose required.

I'm not a bio-mechanics guy, but even I can see that this hypothesis doesn't make good sense.  Sorry to jump off topic like that.  The Spinosaurus as a seal picture is pretty funny.

[Balaur]

We don't. Welcome Newt!
I also doubt the carrion hypothesis, but I wouldn't be surprised if they scavenged occasionally.

[Newt]

Sure- the predator/ scavenger line is pretty fluid, and many or most "predators" will take carrion when available.  I saw a red-tailed hawk (generally thought of as a predator) and a turkey vulture (a dedicated scavenger) sharing a deer carcass just a few days ago.  Even a few snakes- maybe the purest predators among the amniotes- will scavenge.  I've seen cottonmouths eat road-killed watersnakes.

[DinoToyForum]

You make a strong case, Newt. I'm convinced anyway!