Valley Of The T-rex
Encyclopedia
Valley of the T-Rex is a Discovery Channel
documentary, featuring leading paleontologist Jack Horner as he travels to Hell Creek Formation
for digging after fossil
s. Horner wants to find the truth about the most famous of all dinosaur
s, Tyrannosaurus Rex. The main debate in the program is whether Tyrannosaurus was a predator or a scavenger
. Jack Horner
is the main paleontologist on the show and supports the theory that Tyrannosaurus is a scavenger
.
Horner instead suggests that Tyrannosaurus was a slowmoving animal, traveling across the landscape in search of carcass. Horner also thinks Tyrannosaurus would have a pretty repulsive look: Big, black body and a red head, and that it also would give off a terrible odor. This would help it discourage other meateaters (like dromaeosaurids) from carcass.
and Triceratops
. Other scientists have also argued that Tyrannosaurus well developed sense of smell could have been used for hunting.
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
documentary, featuring leading paleontologist Jack Horner as he travels to Hell Creek Formation
Hell Creek Formation
The Hell Creek Formation is an intensely-studied division of Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana...
for digging after fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s. Horner wants to find the truth about the most famous of all dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, Tyrannosaurus Rex. The main debate in the program is whether Tyrannosaurus was a predator or a scavenger
Scavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
. Jack Horner
Jack Horner (paleontologist)
John "Jack" R. Horner is an American paleontologist who discovered and named Maiasaura, providing the first clear evidence that some dinosaurs cared for their young. He is one of the best-known paleontologists in the United States...
is the main paleontologist on the show and supports the theory that Tyrannosaurus is a scavenger
Scavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
.
Horner's argument for a scavenging lifestyle in Tyrannosaurus Rex
In his show, Horner means that if you look at all characteristics of Tyrannosaurus Rex, he says that it strongly supports that it "would be a scavenger, rather than a predator... and yet, no one likes that idea". Some of Horner's argument for a scavenger are:- Jaws and teeth: Tyrannosaurus had powerful jawJawThe jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...
s. Those would be used for crushing boneBoneBones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
s, scavengers do this (like hyenaHyenaHyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s). Predators teeth are normally thin and sharp for slicing flesh, but Tyrannosaurus teeth are large and thick, ideal for crushing bones to feed on marrowBone marrowBone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
. - Forelimbs: Tyrannosaurus short forelimbs seems like they couldn't hold on to anything, this includes struggling prey. Predators have well developed forelimbs with claws to hold prey down while the jaws do their dirty work. Scavengers don't need this, and Tyrannosaurus is no exception. Horner think that Tyrannosaurus couldn't use its forelimbs for much more than to "Scratch it's belly", and that the upper arm (humerusHumerusThe humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
) likely was totally embedded in the chest muscles. - Speed: Horner argues that Tyrannosaurus must have been too slow to chase down prey. Its body plan isn't designed as a runner. And if it stumbled and fell while running fast, it would get fatal wounds. Horner also argues that some skeletal specimens of Tyrannosaurus had a thighbone (femurFemurThe femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
) which were longer than the shinbone (tibiaTibiaThe tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
). This is not the case in fastrunning animals, which have a shinbone longer than the thighbone ( Horner use the agile dromaeosauridDromaeosauridaeDromaeosauridae is a family of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. They were small- to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek dromeus meaning 'runner' and sauros meaning 'lizard'...
SaurornitholestesSaurornitholestesSaurornitholestes is a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Alberta, Montana and New Mexico....
as an example). - Brain and senses: Horner suggest that Tyrannosaurus had a poorly developed sense of sight, and would not be a good predator. On the other hand, the huge olfactory bulbOlfactory bulbThe olfactory bulb is a structure of the vertebrate forebrain involved in olfaction, the perception of odors.-Anatomy:In most vertebrates, the olfactory bulb is the most rostral part of the brain. In humans, however, the olfactory bulb is on the inferior side of the brain...
indicates "a tremendous sense of smell", used to smell up carcasses.
Horner instead suggests that Tyrannosaurus was a slowmoving animal, traveling across the landscape in search of carcass. Horner also thinks Tyrannosaurus would have a pretty repulsive look: Big, black body and a red head, and that it also would give off a terrible odor. This would help it discourage other meateaters (like dromaeosaurids) from carcass.
Chapters
- Introduction
- Valley Of The T-Rex
- Newly Discovered T-Rex
- Back To The Cretaceous
- Believe T-Rex Is A Predator
- Large Olfactory
- Source- Teeth
- Star Attraction
- Season Over
- End Credits
About the program
- When Horner examine fossil of Tyrannosaurus in the program, he mostly use the specimen MOR 555 ("Wankel Rex") as reference. This specimen was found by Kathy Wankel in 1988, and was the first specimen of the genus with a well preserved forelimb.
- The computer animationComputer animationComputer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
in the program was made by Meteor StudiosMeteor StudiosMeteor Studios was a Canadian production company that worked in computer animation. They produced animations for many films and TV series. The company filed for bankruptcy in March 2008, and many workers remain unpaid.-Filmography:* Catwoman...
. Some of the clips are also borrowed from one of Discovery ChannelDiscovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's earlier programs about dinosaurDinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, When Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaWhen Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaWhen Dinosaurs Roamed America is a two-hour American television program that first aired on Discovery Channel in 2001. It was directed by Pierre de Lespinois and narrated by actor John Goodman...
.
Criticism
Since Valley Of The T-Rex was showed on television, it has been met by numerous criticisms. Many of Horner's argument against a predatory lifestyle in Tyrannosaurus have also been faced by people who support Tyrannosaurus as a predator. Also, there are some good evidence to support Tyrannosaurus as a predator. This includes possible healed bitemarks made by Tyrannosaurus in skeletons from the herbivorous dinosaurs EdmontosaurusEdmontosaurus
Edmontosaurus is a genus of crestless hadrosaurid dinosaur. It contains two species: Edmontosaurus regalis and Edmontosaurus annectens. Fossils of E. regalis have been found in rocks of western North America that date from the late Campanian stage of the Cretaceous Period 73 million years ago,...
and Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
. Other scientists have also argued that Tyrannosaurus well developed sense of smell could have been used for hunting.
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