Some dinosaurs, it is known, were ferocious creatures — using claws, jaws, teeth, horns or even tails to subdue their prey.
But did some use poison, too?
A group of paleontologists has found evidence to suggest that at least one dinosaur, the birdlike raptor Sinornithosaurus, was venomous. It probably used its poison to stun small birds or other prey, the researchers write in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Sinornithosaurus, which was about three feet long and lived 125 million years ago, was described in 1999 based on fossils discovered at the Liaoning Quarry in northeastern China. The original description noted some unusual features, including grooves in the teeth and a duct running along the base of the teeth.
Enpu Gong of Northeastern University in Liaoning, David A. Burnham of the University of Kansas and colleagues have now interpreted those features, and a cavity in the skull not previously described, as evidence of a venom delivery system similar to that found in some living lizards.
“We figured out the teeth and looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, that’s a venomous animal,’ ” Dr. Burnham said.
The cavity, they suggest, contained a gland that produced venom, which flowed through the duct and then down the grooves of the teeth. When the dinosaur bit into a bird or other animal, the venom would be delivered.
Dr. Burnham said Sinornithosaurus was not capable of a “grab and gulp” type of attack, like, for instance, T. rex. Instead it more likely used a “grab and hold” technique, which allowed time for the venom to do its work. The dinosaur’s teeth were long, the better for penetrating a bird’s feathers.
The researchers suggest that other raptors may also have used venom. Asked if he was looking for similar evidence in other fossils, Dr. Burnham replied, “I sure am now.”
Henry Fountain, New York Times
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Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/science/29obdino.html
