Tag: predator

The Evolution of Feathered Dinosaurs

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Every single feathered dinosaur ever discovered has been identified as a predatory carnivore. It is suspected by paleontologists that the Tyrannosaurus rex had feathers in various areas of its body. Feathers often serve a purpose for birds dependent of their color, and it has been theorized that this was also the case for dinosaurs. Liaoning Province, China is the world capital for feathered dinosaur fossils, with the first ever feathered fossilized dinosaur remains discovered by a farmer by complete accident as he turned the soil of his field before planting crops. It is suspected by experts that due to the increase of species and therefore competition, reptiles were required to become more and more active which inevitably required a higher metabolism. This newer and further evolved metabolism is theorized to have caused some animals to become warm blooded, which is the primary reason feathers were introduced by evolution. Long necked birds tuck their heads under their feathers to minimize heat loss and proof of this occurring tens of millions of years ago is provided by an incredibly detailed fossil of a small dinosaur in this exact pose which was found in 2004 by American palaeontologist Mark Norell, providing for the first time in the study of paleontology, compelling evidence for dinosaurs having had feathers. It has been posited that dinosaurs may have had feathers for warmth during their early years which were then shed throughout adolescence as they moved into their adult life, with the majority of the feathers which fell out being in areas which were not particularly useful in aiding a visual display to potential predators or mates

Herbivore vs Carnivore Vision

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Animals which have eyes placed upon the sides of their heads (e.g. squirrels, zebras, frogs etc.) are typically herbivores and prey for carnivores. Herbivores need to have their field of vision constantly focused upon what’s going on around them. Animals which have eyes on the front of their heads (e.g. owls, tigers, human beings etc.) are usually carnivores. Carnivores are predators and because of this they need to constantly be focused upon what is in front of them for activities like chasing down prey in an attempt to capture and eventually kill what they catch. Human beings can demonstrate this difference for themselves by placing one’s hands in front of their eyes as they would binoculars, then crossing their wrists and cupping their hands so that they see only from the sides of their face. This demonstrates the different abilities predator and prey have in respect to what is in focus within a particular classifications field of vision. Panoramic vantage points which herbivore prey have allow for more information to be taken in at once, but binocular vantage points which carnivorous predators have allow for depth perception which most herbivores do not have, and even when they do have it, it’s accuracy is highly limited