Poisonous dinosaur
March 28th 2010 03:31
You might remember the movie Jurassic Park, where Dilophosaurus was depicted as spitting a poisonous black goo onto its prey. There was no evidence that this genus actually had such a capacity; it was added into the movie as an interesting possibility. Now, it appears that at least one dinosaur did use poison.
Sinornithosaurus, which lived in what is now China, exhibits fang like teeth similar to those of snakes, with grooves in them that might have channelled poison. Researchers also say that Sinornithosaurs had a pocket in the upper jaw that might have housed the poison.
There is of course nothing at all implausible about this; evolution will often hit upon similar solutions in distantly related related groups, and chemical warfare seems to be one of the most widely used and versatile weapons used by organisms, from plants to animals.
Excerpt from BBC science article:
"Like rear-fanged snakes, the venom Sinornithosaurus used was probably not lethal. The researchers suggest it instead caused rapid shock, allowing the dinosaur to subdue its prey.
"The researchers propose that the length of the dinosaur's fangs allowed it to penetrate the thick plumage of birds that populated the forests of north-east China during the early Cretaceous period."
Continue reading here.
Sinornithosaurus, which lived in what is now China, exhibits fang like teeth similar to those of snakes, with grooves in them that might have channelled poison. Researchers also say that Sinornithosaurs had a pocket in the upper jaw that might have housed the poison.
Sinornithosaurs skull, with grooves along curved teeth. From BBC Science. Original source: National Academy of Sciences
There is of course nothing at all implausible about this; evolution will often hit upon similar solutions in distantly related related groups, and chemical warfare seems to be one of the most widely used and versatile weapons used by organisms, from plants to animals.
Excerpt from BBC science article:
"Like rear-fanged snakes, the venom Sinornithosaurus used was probably not lethal. The researchers suggest it instead caused rapid shock, allowing the dinosaur to subdue its prey.
"The researchers propose that the length of the dinosaur's fangs allowed it to penetrate the thick plumage of birds that populated the forests of north-east China during the early Cretaceous period."
Continue reading here.
| 46 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
