
Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 2:40 PMOf course it's 2 tons is strong, but compared to Tyrannosaurus' 9 tons, it's nothing. Sure, that's a car. But T-rex's is a pair of elephants.
I break the 3 down like this...
Spino is the specialized slasher
Giga is the all-round fighter
Rex is the powerful crusher
That said, I would not want to run into any of these beasts in a dark alley, haha
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 2:48 PMYou say that Giga is sort of the "combo" dinosaur, using his arms to his advantage. This just doesn't seem accurate. Think of all the documentaries you've seen of therapods like Giga, Carchar, Rex, and other larger therapods. When in combat, they very rarely use their arms. It's always the head, jaws, and feet. Spino is the only giant dino mentioned that I would attribute to making significant use of it's hands and arms in a fight, because, unlike the others, Spino would use them for hunting, grasping, and hooking prey on a regular basis.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 2:53 PMAllosaurus and Spinosaurus are the only really large theropods that made use of their arms. Everyone thinks that the tyrannosaurs and abelisaurs were the only one's who had short arms. But Giga, Carchar, and their closest relatives had short arms too.
[img]http://members.tripod.com/~Dinosauria/Giganotosaurus.gif[/img]
Giga
[img]http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/23500000/Tyrannotitan-dinosaurs-23565488-600-401.jpg[/img]
TyrannoT
Longer and more useful than the tyrannosaurs and abelisaurs, but not by much.
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Deltadromeus
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:03 PMI guess that they do have shorter arms, but I do think those arms were still used. Tyrannotitian had shorter arms than other Allosaurs, it was very tyrannosaur like.

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:05 PMBut Spino's were even longer than Allosaurus. It's one thing to make use of arms in handling food and other tasks, but it's another to use them on a daily basis, hunting, attacking, etc. But I definitely agree that these two were more advanced in this regard than tyrannosaurs and abelisaurs.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:07 PMHow would they make use of their tiny arms? They were undeveloped, short, with short fingers and claws, and diminished wrist action.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:12 PMThe tyrannosaurs may have used them for a number reasons. To grip a mate, push off the ground, or stabilize their prey. The arms were very strong and their claws were sharp. For holding prey, this is what I think they would do...
A Tyrannosaurus attacked an Edmontosaurus. He holds it with in his jaws, right above the shoulder. He brings it in close using his strong neck muscles. Then, he stabs it in the flank with his hand claws. This helps hold it still. He balances on one foot and uses his tail as well. He slashes with his 10+ inch toe claws and bites down again and again. His hand claws continue to hold the hadrosaur. After a little bit, it's dead.
This is just on theory. As far as the abelisaurs go, I have no idea.
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:22 PMThat just seems so complicated. More likely he would pin the carcass down with his foot and tear of chunks of meat with his jaws. If the arms were longer and more developed, and had more than two fingers, maybe your take would be more believable.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:24 PMAs always, we will never know for sure.
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:27 PMI still don't think that short arms means that it was a scavenger like Horner claims. Wolves for example are successful hunters. Do they use their front feet? No.
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:27 PMTrue.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:35 PM[img]http://www.geocities.ws/monchromon/carnotaurus01.jpg[/img]
I almost feel bad for him. Such a fearsome appearance. Then you look at it's arms, haha.
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:38 PMWell, his other features sure made up for it! I probably would stop to laugh at the arms if I was being attacked by one, you know what I'm saying? ;)
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 3:39 PMYeah really. I would be laughing too much to realize it's got me in it's jaws, haha
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 4:17 PMHaha, whoops, I meant I [i]wouldn't[/i] stop to laugh - that would actually be really horrifying.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Spinosaurus Rex
MemberCompsognathusJul-11-2013 5:53 PMTrex dont have a bite force of 9 tons, it has a 4 to 6 ton bite.

Lord Vader
MemberTyrannosaurus RexJul-11-2013 6:28 PMEveryone has their opinions. I think Rex had around a 7 ton bite force.
Jack of all trades. Master of none

Dinosaur.Fanatic
MemberCompsognathusJul-12-2013 8:14 AMI believe it was in the 5-7 range.
"Either way, you probably won't get off this island alive."
--Alan Grant

Rex Fan 684
MemberCompsognathusJul-12-2013 1:50 PMGregory Erikson of Florida State University stated on the documentary Mammals vs Dinos, Episode 2 Rise of Mammals, that minimally Tyrannosaurus rex had a bite force of 6,800 lbs per square inch and that the maximum bite force was in the 18,000 lbs range. This was based off of alligator tests, bite marks on T-rex victims, and estimated muscled density and size.
"Men like me don't start the wars. We just die in them. We've always died in them, and we always will. We don't expect any praise for it, no parades. No one knows our names."
―Alpha-98