Fragillimus335
Member
Sauropod fanatic, and dinosaur specialist
Posts: 573
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Post by Fragillimus335 on Mar 23, 2014 0:11:55 GMT 5
Stingers!
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Post by Reticulatus on Mar 23, 2014 7:40:10 GMT 5
Many of the best weapons are not listed. Size is a very useful weapon and keeps many species from being common prey, and allows them to crush potential predators and competitors. Specialized weapons like the rudula and proboscis of cone snails, stingers(scorpions, wasp)and tentacles(jellyfish, cephalopods) have proven to be quite successful. Bodily constriction is IMHO the best weapon, though its far more useful when accompanied by a decent set of jaws(the best of the listed options). I'm going with Other.
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Post by Infinity Blade on Mar 23, 2014 7:55:04 GMT 5
All you simply need to do is click other. Luckily you did.
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Carcharodon
Junior Member
Allosauroidea Enthusiast
Posts: 211
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Post by Carcharodon on Mar 23, 2014 7:57:20 GMT 5
I say that jaws are the most efficient weapons, especially in theropods, sharks, and pliosaurs.
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Post by Reticulatus on Mar 23, 2014 9:04:05 GMT 5
Sorry I thought I was allowed to participate in the conversation as well, my mistake.
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Post by Infinity Blade on Mar 23, 2014 10:34:13 GMT 5
It seems you don't understand.
I replied to that specific part of the post ONLY. I said just click other if you don't see something not listed (and I know you did, good on you). I said and suggested ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that you cannot participate in this discussion. Do so as much as you like.
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Post by Runic on Mar 24, 2014 0:26:05 GMT 5
In Dromaeosaurids and Accipitrids the claws are the main killing tools not the jaws. Whether that is better or worse is debatable but it's proven quite adept since it hasn't changed over millions of years.
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Post by theropod on Mar 24, 2014 0:57:42 GMT 5
The claws in these animals act very similar to some other animal’s jaws
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Post by Infinity Blade on Mar 24, 2014 1:31:09 GMT 5
I recall Vobby stating on Carnivora in the Trike vs. Carchy thread that it's rather difficult just to penetrate an animal's body (he was referring to horns in this case), unless with jaws. While I don't believe it exists to a really large degree (not that much at all actually) I think he may have a bit of a point. carnivoraforum.com/single/?p=8616926&t=9714286Between horns/tusks and jaws, I think they are near even, but the former only has its force all concentrated through one or two small tips (meaning the tips of the horn(s) or tusk(s)) in only one direction and AFAIK don't exactly keep attempting to apply more and more pressure to it once it hits the intended target. In the case of a potent maw, its force is all concentrated through multiple tips (the tips of all the teeth) in two opposing directions (the upper and lower jaws), and they keep attempting to apply more and more pressure once the intended target is hit. Correct me if my way of thinking is completely skewed. |
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Post by theropod on Mar 24, 2014 1:40:54 GMT 5
That depends on what you are trying to penetrate it with.
Penetration itself is not an issue if you have a sufficiently pointed structure that you can move with sufficient force or at sufficient speed. A horn like a ceratopsian’s or a thagomizer like a stegosaur’s both qualify.
Of course, if the penetrating structure is too blunt that will make things more difficult, and may allow the opponent to evade being stabbed even if contact is made, especially if the attack is at an oblique angle.
But modern animals don’t seem to have trouble penetrating other animals with other weapons than bites. Buffalo, warthogs, rhinos and elephants are all proof of that.
On the other hand, it is actually not so easy to place a deep bite in most situations, because that requires most animals to actually fully get whatever they are trying to penetrate with their teeth within their oral cavity.
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Post by Infinity Blade on Mar 24, 2014 1:47:58 GMT 5
I don't believe it exists to a large degree at all, but in something that frequently uses its horns/tusks in another activity that could wear the tips down (ex: elephant's digging), it may be a bit more of a problem (but obviously not humongously).
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Post by Godzillasaurus on Mar 25, 2014 23:34:40 GMT 5
With horns or spikes (such as in many ceratopsians and stegosaurs), the focus of pressure is only in one direction, but who is to say that such weapons cannot be put to good use with enough driving force or precision? After all, they were used primarily for defense if not for courtship/display, so as long as they kept predators at bay they should have worked fine.
The purpose of jaws is for feeding; that is why they were evolved in early fish. Whether it be for gripping or chewing, the use of two planes as weapons may be slightly more efficient than the use of one, but are they more deadly? The brow horns of ceratopsians (the ones that possessed them of course) would have likely caused a good deal of internal damage to any such large predator if used efficiently. Of course the severity of the damage would depend on the curvature of the horn (a longer and more erect horn would be more deadly in this case than a curved one) and positioning of the insertion (erect spikes worked best when used perpendicularly). The same thing goes for stegosaur thagomizers
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Post by theropod on Mar 31, 2014 23:09:12 GMT 5
The useful thing about jaws is that they can also be used for holding and all the tasks this enables them to fulfill. This means they can be used to pull, tear, shake and twist, as well as grapple effectively, depending on their respective adaptions.
They do not need to move at a high speed for crushing something if the teeth are rather blunt, because something that’s within the oral cavity stays there and won’t just get accellerated as would be the case with a T. rex powerfully but slowly pushing you with its skull.
That’s also particularly advantageous for adapting to various enviroonments. A frigate bird wouldn’t be sucessful without being able to catch something while flying, and a gharial would have serious problems if it could only impale the fish but not grip them properly. This is what makes them such versatile weapons, although not always the most potent.
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Post by creature386 on Mar 31, 2014 23:36:39 GMT 5
As there are so many different ways how jaws can be used, should we maybe specify some kinds of jaws (jaws for crushing, grappling, slicing, gripping ect.) or just put everything under jaws?
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Post by Vodmeister on Apr 1, 2014 20:08:01 GMT 5
Electric eel > All
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