New Evidence TRexes were actually pack hunters

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**Frazzled**

Oy Vey!

(pics in actual article)

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/07/24/tyrannosaur-gangs-terrorized-ancient-landscape/?intcmp=features

Tyrannosaur 'gangs' terrorized ancient landscape
By Tia Ghose
Three trackways made by tyrannosaurs have recently been unearthed in Canada. The trackways suggest the giant predators may have been pack huntersRichard McCrea
Some 70 million years ago, three tyrannosaurs stalked together across a mud flat in Canada, possibly searching for prey.

The new insight comes from several parallel tyrannosaur tracks unearthed in Canada. The dinosaur tracks provide stronger evidence for a controversial theory: That the fearsome mega-predators hunted in packs.

The ferocious beasts may have "stuck together as a pack to increase their chances of bringing down prey and individually surviving," said study co-author Richard McCrea, a curator at the Peace Region Palaeontology Center in Canada. [See Images of the Giant Tyrannosaur Tracks]

Tyrannosaur hunting
Paleontologists have long debated whether Tyrannosaurus rex and its cousins, such as Albertosaurus, hunted alone or in groups.

While most researchers believe the predators were lone wolves, so to speak, multiple Albertosaurus specimens found in a single bone bed in Canada's Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park have led some to propose that tyrannosaurs were pack animals.

But finding groups of bones together isn't definitive evidence for pack hunting, because bones can move after death. Other circumstances can cause fossil skeletons to accumulate in one location. For instance, many carnivores wandered individually into classic predator traps, such as the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, but probably didn't hunt together in life, McCrea said.

Track marks unearthed
In 2011, a local hunting outfitter and guide, Aaron Fredlund, unearthed two tyrannosaur track marks in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia and then told McCrea's team about the discovery.

The team eventually discovered a patch 197 feet long by 13 feet wide filled with footprints from multiple dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurs, other small theropods, and duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs. These dinosaurs were apparently walking in the silty sediments from an overflowing river and formed the track marks about 70 million years ago. A thick layer of volcanic ash then preserved the marks, McCrea said.

In total, the team found seven tracks that were made by three tyrannosaurs. Though the researchers couldn't identify the specific species, it's likely given the period and location where they were found that Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus or Daspletosaurus left the tracks, McCrea said.

Though the other dinosaur tracks there are all pointing in random directions, the tyrannosaur footprints are parallel with each other. The tyrannosaurs also left prints of about the same depth in the wet sediments, suggesting they crossed through the area at the same time. (As the mud dries, the depth of footprints becomes shallower.)

The new find may be one of the world's oldest examples of a missed connection. "The hadrosaur footprints are much more shallow, indicating that they came later," possibly just a few hours or days after the tyrannosaurs, McCrea told Live Science.

Pack animals
The new tracks suggest that the tyrannosaurs may have hunted in packs to take down large prey, just as wolves do today.

"An individual wolf would not be able to take out a moose, but a pack of them would," McCrea said.

Similarly, pack hunting could explain how tyrannosaurs could kill hadrosaurs, which are almost as large as the predators, without sustaining horrific injuries, he said.

That doesn't mean tyrannosaurs would have been friendly to one another. In fact, other fossils reveal that the dinosaurs liked to head-bite each other. But the tyrannosaurs may have stuck together to hunt because it increased their odds of survival, McCrea said.

The new discovery also highlights the rough life of these hunters. One of the beasts was missing bones in its left foot, which is in keeping with many of the injuries found on other tyrannosaur specimens, McCrea said.

**Jihadin**

Jurassic Park V(?)

**Frazzled**

Truly the only thing more terrifying to contemplate is a pack of hungry wiener dogs. Thanks Obama!

**Jihadin**

Can't blame him. He's at a fundraiser

**Paradigm**

This theory has been around for a while, and is pretty credible. Not so much for the likes of Albertasaurus or Gigantosaurus, but especially with T Rex and the other extremely large therapods, they'd have a far better chance in packs. One T Rex has a much lower chance of making a kill large enough to feed it, multiples become more dangerous proprtionally but not linearly.

If one could bring down X triceratops, three can probably bring down more than 3X, as they will, as a group, be harder to evade, more efficient in singling out prey, and also more effective in warding off scavengers.

There's also an interesting theory that T Rex itself was a scavenger.

**LordofHats**

Most meat eating animals will happily scavenge prey if they get the chance to do so.

It's also worth noting though that an animal doesn't need to be a pack hunter to hunt with a partner;

Also, mandatory damn nature you scary reference;

There are many animals in the animal kingdom (like the above coyote and badger) that will work together, despite having no other ties to one another, to obtain food.

**Frazzled**

Wo wo you brought a badger into this. best step that badger out of my grill Bro before he gets hurt!

**Avatar 720**

I dunno, we can't discount the theory that it was one T-Rex who thought "I know how to feth with people millions of years from now". Besides, we already know that T-Rexes ate coconuts, which blows this whole 'pack hunter' theory out of the water.

**LordofHats**

Frazzled wrote:

That's just freaking gold

**PrehistoricUFO**

The idea of a T-Rex gang terrorizing everything made me chuckle.

**SagesStone**

Avatar 720 wrote:
I dunno, we can't discount the theory that it was one T-Rex who thought "I know how to feth with people millions of years from now". Besides, we already know that T-Rexes ate coconuts, which blows this whole 'pack hunter' theory out of the water.

Two to shake the tree and one to catch the coconuts. Their tiny arms would never be able to pick them up off the ground.

**Jihadin**

T-Rex that top heavy to bend over and eat a 'nut?

**Frazzled**

PrehistoricUFO wrote:
The idea of a T-Rex gang terrorizing everything made me chuckle.

Now thats my kind of wedding!

**Ensis Ferrae**

Makes ya wonder what a "turf war" between velociraptors and T-Rexes would look like

**timetowaste85**

If I saw a here of T-Rex, my response would be "look at all their cute little arms! OH GOD!!!! As they ate me. Cuz you can't outrun that.

Also...families? Maybe three rexes were found together, it was a family. If Jurassic Park taught us anything, it's that T-Rex kiddos are loved by mommy and daddy. Even after they become vicious killers.

**Asherian Command**

PrehistoricUFO wrote:
The idea of a T-Rex gang terrorizing everything made me chuckle.

Thats probably a highlight of my day XD

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Makes ya wonder what a "turf war" between velociraptors and T-Rexes would look like

Maybe... This? I hope.

Nah

probably just this....

**Bullockist**

That's not a T-rex . This is a T-rex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Williams_(rugby_league)

He also hunts in a pack.

**Breotan**

Why's he doing the pee-pee dance?

**Jihadin**

Bullockist wrote:
That's not a T-rex . This is a T-rex

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Williams_(rugby_league)

He also hunts in a pack.

Guess he forgot his cup eh

**SilverMK2**

Real men don't wear cups. Only girly girls playing American "sports"

**Jihadin**

SilverMK2 wrote:
Real men don't wear cups. Only girly girls playing American "sports"

Spread em Chief. I want to see how mmmaannnlllyyyyy you are as I try to foot lunch two nuts to Pluto

I am a girly girl so no you cannot try it on me

**SilverMK2**

Jihadin wrote:
SilverMK2 wrote:
Real men don't wear cups. Only girly girls playing American "sports"

Spread em Chief. I want to see how mmmaannnlllyyyyy you are as I try to foot lunch two nuts to Pluto
I am a girly girl so no you cannot try it on me

Nuts o' steel!

**Bullockist**

SilverMK2 wrote:
Real men don't wear cups. Only girly girls playing American "sports"

This , US citizens please note in order to play a contact sport a player does not need to be wrapped in a cotton wool mattress before taking the field.

Also you two are now on my Said Something Bad About Rugby League list
1. Sebster
2. Breotan
3. Jihadin.

I laughed at you twos' comments

, I must admit I never noticed where his hand is.

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Jihadin wrote:

I am a girly girl so no you cannot try it on me

Confirmation!

**Dreadwinter**

I wonder how this helped them hunt down and devour defenseless coconuts?

**SilverMK2**

Dreadwinter wrote:
I wonder how this helped them hunt down and devour defenseless coconuts?

If only Noah had written down what all the (apparently) evil animals were doing prior to the flood. Clearly the pack were engaged in satanic rituals to harness the power of the devil to shake the tree as their arms were not long enough.

**greenskin lynn**

SilverMK2 wrote:
Dreadwinter wrote:
I wonder how this helped them hunt down and devour defenseless coconuts?

If only Noah had written down what all the (apparently) evil animals were doing prior to the flood. Clearly the pack were engaged in satanic rituals to harness the power of the devil to shake the tree as their arms were not long enough.

no no, what got them was that their attempt to genetically modify themselves with more effective arms sterilized their kind

**SilverMK2**

greenskin lynn wrote:
no no, what got them was that their attempt to genetically modify themselves with more effective arms sterilized their kind

You mean god punished them for attempting to meddle in creation(ism)?

**Soladrin**

What I found more inteteresting was that in recent study, they discovered that those tiny comedy arms of a T-rex would be able to quite simply tear a man in two. They are connected to the giant shoulder muscles of the t-rex and capable of holding them up while mating and most likely for assisting them in getting up from sleeping or w/e. So, they may look like comedy gold, but they can rip you in two.

**KingCracker**

Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Makes ya wonder what a "turf war" between velociraptors and T-Rexes would look like

So much finger snapping and dancing

**Frazzled**

SilverMK2 wrote:
Dreadwinter wrote:
I wonder how this helped them hunt down and devour defenseless coconuts?

If only Noah had written down what all the (apparently) evil animals were doing prior to the flood. Clearly the pack were engaged in satanic rituals to harness the power of the devil to shake the tree as their arms were not long enough.

Well they all did make it onto the Ark. Unfortunately (for them) it was a long voyage, and the wiener dogs got hungry...