Daemonosaurus, a flesh grazer?

Adam Khor

Here's another quirky theory I came up with, probably even more unlikely than the venomous Ceratosaurus one- you know how Daemonosaurus has those weird, long serrated teeth protruding from the front of its jaws?



I was thinking... what if Daemonosaurus was a flesh grazer? You know, like a cookiecutter shark or that Amazon catfish that bites small chunks of flesh off river dolphins and manatees.

Daemonosaurus lived alongside larger reptiles such as Placerias, prosauropods (known from footprints in the Chinle formation if I'm not mistaken) and larger dinosaurs and dinosaur-like creatures. Its huge eyes suggest it was nocturnal.
Maybe it would take advantage of the dark and use its serrated front teeth to bite chunks of flesh from larger animals?

Of course, I don´t think it would feed exclusively like this- but the fact that there were other carnivorous dinosaurs at the same time and place that managed to hunt small prey just fine without any kind of special teeth, suggests to me that Daemonosaurus was doing something very different.

It could also have been a fish eater but... its teeth are rather different from those of fish-eating animals, which are usually non-serrated and conical. Daemonosaurus' front teeth seem better adapted to rip through flesh.

It's just a thought, but an interesting one... I can imagine Daemonosaurus taking bites out of Placerias, perhaps causing some of them to suffer from infections and become easier prey for coelophysoids and rauisuchians...

In case a paleontologist comes up with this idea one day, remember I thought of it FIRST! XD

Galvasean

So basically, nipping a bit of flesh from an unsuspecting animal and making a run for it?
I've heard more ludicrous feeding suggestions, that's for sure.

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

So basically, nipping a bit of flesh from an unsuspecting animal and making a run for it?
I've heard more ludicrous feeding suggestions, that's for sure.

I did know about the Jeholopterus vampire theory Admit I liked it, too.

But seriously, there are animals today that feed like this. Why not Daemonosaurus?

Alvin T. Grey

I've heard that theory somewhere before. But wouldn't you need sharper teeth and some form of local anestethic for that?

Adam Khor

Alvin T. Grey wrote: »

I've heard that theory somewhere before. But wouldn't you need sharper teeth and some form of local anestethic for that?

Not necessarily. Cookiecutter sharks and other flesh-grazers today manage very well without any kind of antestethic (as far as I know, anyways). Since Daemonosaurus has the build of an agile runner, it would probably bite a chunk of flesh then dart away before the victim could figure out what happened... it wouldn´t stick around like a leech.

As for the sharpness of the teeth, I read that the front teeth were serrated to cut through flesh, plus the animal had relatively short jaws suggesting a stronger bite than that of other small theropods from the same time (Coelophysis, etc) therefore, it may be that the combination of sharp serrated teeth and powerful bite were enough to do the job. It would certainly be painful to the victim but since it would prey on animals much larger and slower than itself, the risk of being caught would be minimal...:cool:

Rubecula

Just as an aside to this I was posting in another thread about Dire Wolves and something said on the tv program just hit me right between the eyes.

Wolves have frontal teeth that enable them to bite chunks of flesh in a hurry so they can finish off eating before larger and more deadly predators are able to steal the kill off them.

Ever notice how dogs wolf their food down? (No pun intended)

Could it be that Daemonosaurus being small had to do something similar before being driven off by something more nasty? That may account for the dental layout.

Adam Khor

Rubecula wrote: »

Just as an aside to this I was posting in another thread about Dire Wolves and something said on the tv program just hit me right between the eyes.

Wolves have frontal teeth that enable them to bite chunks of flesh in a hurry so they can finish off eating before larger and more deadly predators are able to steal the kill off them.

Ever notice how dogs wolf their food down? (No pun intended)

Could it be that Daemonosaurus being small had to do something similar before being driven off by something more nasty? That may account for the dental layout.

That's an interesting idea... but then again, Coelophysis (which lived at the same time and in the same place) was also smallish (larger than Daemonosaurus but small nonetheless) and coexisting with huge, fierce rauisuchians such as Postosuchus, yet they seem to have done just fine with small, normal teeth...

Of course,there's the fact that Coelophysis was probably gregarious...

Alvin T. Grey

Adam Khor wrote: »

Not necessarily. Cookiecutter sharks and other flesh-grazers today manage very well without any kind of antestethic (as far as I know, anyways). Since Daemonosaurus has the build of an agile runner, it would probably bite a chunk of flesh then dart away before the victim could figure out what happened... it wouldn´t stick around like a leech.

As for the sharpness of the teeth, I read that the front teeth were serrated to cut through flesh, plus the animal had relatively short jaws suggesting a stronger bite than that of other small theropods from the same time (Coelophysis, etc) therefore, it may be that the combination of sharp serrated teeth and powerful bite were enough to do the job. It would certainly be painful to the victim but since it would prey on animals much larger and slower than itself, the risk of being caught would be minimal...:cool:

But would the teeth be big enought to take anything more than skin and subcutanious fat?

Rubecula

Adam Khor wrote: »

That's an interesting idea... but then again, Coelophysis (which lived at the same time and in the same place) was also smallish (larger than Daemonosaurus but small nonetheless) and coexisting with huge, fierce rauisuchians such as Postosuchus, yet they seem to have done just fine with small, normal teeth...

Of course,there's the fact that Coelophysis was probably gregarious...

There are smaller predators that co-exist with wolves too and they don't have that dentition. I think ( I don't know of course) that it would depend on the prey of these creatures. It is very possible that a pack of Daemonosaurus would bring down a sizeable prey and would need to wolf down gobbets of flesh before a big Theropod came on the scene and stole the kill. Or even that they fed on other kills and needed to grab a bite quickly before the owner re-appeared. It is just an idea mind you.:)

Adam Khor

Alvin T. Grey wrote: »

But would the teeth be big enought to take anything more than skin and subcutanious fat?

Most likely yes- its potential prey would be reptiles which have very little subcutaneous fat compared to, say, mammals.

Alvin T. Grey

Adam Khor wrote: »

Most likely yes- its potential prey would be reptiles which have very little subcutaneous fat compared to, say, mammals.

Dunno, not really convinced. I'd expect a flesh grazer to have much broader, less spikey teeth to scoop out chunks. With a shark, you have lots and lots of broader teeth up front to take a big mouthfull and leg it. With a lamprey you have circular wrasping teeth.

Adam Khor

Alvin T. Grey wrote: »

Dunno, not really convinced. I'd expect a flesh grazer to have much broader, less spikey teeth to scoop out chunks. With a shark, you have lots and lots of broader teeth up front to take a big mouthfull and leg it. With a lamprey you have circular wrasping teeth.

Yes, but keep in mind that cookiecutter sharks and lampreys feed exclusively like this- I don´t think Daemonosaurus would be THAT specialized