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closeCretaceous "cow"
Posted by Ken_Carpenter on 16 Nov 2007 at 02:37 GMT
I am extremely pleased to see this much awaited paper finally published, especially in an open access journal. The article discusses what can only be described as a truly weird skull. To call Nigersaurus a "cow of the Mesozoic" is accurate since its broad muzzle is clearly an adaptation for cropping low vegetation near the ground.
Kenneth Carpenter, Ph.D.
Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
RE: Cretaceous "cow"
Dinosaur1 replied to Ken_Carpenter on 30 Apr 2008 at 08:00 GMT
Thanks for the comments. The structure of the muzzle and the clues to head orientation from the inner ear do suggest ground-level foraging----something we have tended to overlook given the fixation that such "bottom" feeding is for grass during the Cenozoic.
It alsso generated a little heat from those who prefer reconstructing feeding function as an envelope, based on the maximum swing of a headless neck. Attacching the skull, I think, is a good idea.