An interesting article on dinosaurs at the Discovery News site. In case you didn't suspect it T. rex was a very aggressive dinosaur. The article begins with evidence that a 12 or 13 year old female T. rex had a disfigured face from the bite of another T. rex of about the same age. Since she had not reached sexual maturity, this was not some kind of love bite. Mammals have evolved play biting which can be seen in puppies for example, but reptiles and birds fight for real from an early age.
Reading further in the article we learn that a famous T. rex named Sue had what looked like similar bite marks. However, these holes in her skull more likely came from a parasite called tricomonosis which infected her jaws and probably led to her starving to death. In an examination of 61 dino skulls 15% had the parasite. Today, this same parasite affects birds further evidence that birds are dinosaurs. Ironically, pigeons can be asymptomatic carriers of the disease passing it on to any bird of prey that eats it and ultimately killing the predator. Revenge thy name is squab.
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A curiosity shop is a place of odds and ends in a wide range of categories. One never knows what one will find on any visit, and that is the goal of this blog. Here you'll find postings on doings around Easton, the world's environment, history, recipes, fly fishing, books, music, and movies with many other things thrown in as well. Hope you enjoy it and keep coming back.
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