The sensitive face of Neovenator

[suspsy]

Interesting stuff!

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/the-sensitive-face-of-a-big-predatory-dinosaur/

[BlueKrono]

If it were for sensing nest temperature we could make some interesting inferences about parental care, a la crocodilians.

[Patrx]

Fascinating article! Thanks for sharing.

[Neosodon]

I found the part about karatinised skin (AKA fake scales) on therapod faces particularly interesting. Could end up changing the way therapod faces are depicted in the future.

"If, ergo, tyrannosaurids shared such a highly keratinised skin with crocodylians, would their very differently shaped skulls generate the same sort of polygonal cracking, and would that cracking – if present – be distributed in the same manner? Large keratinous sheets on the altirostral snout of a big theropod ('altirostral' = narrow and tall-sided) might result in a very different look. I'll leave this matter alone for now."

[WarrenJB]

I found the part about karatinised skin (AKA fake scales) on therapod faces particularly interesting. Could end up changing the way therapod faces are depicted in the future.

Between this, Daspletosaurus horneri, maybe-scaly Wyrex, and Mark Witton's most recent pair of blog posts, there's plenty of food for thought regarding big theropod faces. Wish I was better equipped to tease most of it out. (For starters: what's the difference between keratinised skin and cornified skin, and what are the modern analogues besides crocodylians?)

[ZoPteryx]

Between this, Daspletosaurus horneri, maybe-scaly Wyrex, and Mark Witton's most recent pair of blog posts, there's plenty of food for thought regarding big theropod faces. Wish I was better equipped to tease most of it out. (For starters: what's the difference between keratinised skin and cornified skin, and what are the modern analogues besides crocodylians?)

I may be wrong, but I believe cornified skin is dead (rattlesnake rattle) while keratinised is not (bird beak).