Valley of the T. rex
Valley of the T. rex is a 2001 Discovery Channel documentary, featuring paleontologist Jack Horner. The program shows Horner with his digging team as they travel to Hell Creek Formation in search for dinosaur fossils. The program also follow Horner as he present his view of the theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex as a scavenger rather than a predator, as it is often portrayed in popular culture.
Plot
The program shows Horner and his digging team as they travel to the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, United States, and dig up dinosaurs.
The program also follows Horner as he presents arguments for his case of Tyrannosaurus as a scavenger. Horner argues that there is not the slightest evidence that Tyrannosaurus hunted its own prey. Instead, Horner believe the evidence should be clear that Tyrannosaurus was a scavenger, lamenting that "no one likes that idea". Some of Horner's arguments for a scavenger-only Tyrannosaurus are:
- Forelimbs: Tyrannosaurus short forelimbs seems like they could not hold on to struggling prey. Horner argue that predators have well developed forelimbs with claws to hold prey down while the jaws do the killing, while Tyrannosaurus could not use its forelimbs for much more than to "Scratch it's belly". Horner believes the upper arm of Tyrannosaurus would have been embedded in muscle, and not externally visible in life. And if Tyrannosaurus stumbled and fell while trying to run, the small forelimbs would not be enough to brake the fall, and it would get fatal injures.
- Speed: Horner argues that Tyrannosaurus must have been too slow to chase down prey, and also points out that some specimens of Tyrannosaurus have longer thighbones than shinbones.[1] According to Horner, this is not the case in fast-running animals like Saurornitholestes, which have longer shinbones than thighbones. Horner describes Tyrannosaurus as "either a really slow runner, or just a walker."
- Brain and senses: Horner suggest that Tyrannosaurus had a poorly developed sense of sight, and would not be a good predator. On the other hand, the huge olfactory bulb indicates "a tremendous sense of smell", used to find carcasses.
- Jaws and teeth: Tyrannosaurus had powerful jaws and robust teeth. Horner argue that Tyrannosaurus used them for crushing bones, as modern scavengers like hyenas do to feed on marrow when the flesh of carcass has rotted away. Predators teeth are normally thin and sharp for slicing flesh.
Tyrannosaurus becomes depicted as Horner imagines it: a big, slow-moving animal, traveling across the landscape in search of a carcass. Horner thinks Tyrannosaurus would have a repulsive look: A dark body, a red head, and itwould give off a terrible smell. This would help it frighten away other meateaters, like dromaeosaurs, from carcasses. His description of T. rex is "Big, nasty, and stinky."
About the program
- When Horner examines the anatomy of Tyrannosaurus in the program, he mostly use the specimen MOR 555 ("Wankel Rex") as reference. This specimen was found by Kathy Wankel in 1988, and was the first specimen of the genus with a well-preserved forelimb.
- The program features Horner and his team as they dig up 5 new Tyrannosaurus specimens.
- The computer animation in the program was made by Meteor Studios. Some of the animations are taken from one of Discovery Channel's other programs about dinosaurs, When Dinosaurs Roamed America.
Criticism
Since Valley of the T. rex was shown on television, it has been met by criticism. Many of the arguments Horner use to support his case have been examined by other paleontologists, who do not agree that they conclusively show Tyrannosaurus was an obligate scavenger.[2] As for Tyrannosaurus short forelimbs, it has been pointed out that predators like wolves and hyenas do not use their frontlegs to take down prey. Moreover, hyenas, like Tyrannosaurus, have jaws and teeth to crush bone, yet they use it to hunt their own prey.
In the program, Horner measure the leg bones of MOR 1128, or "G-rex", one of the skeletons which were shown in the program as it was dug up. The narrator says that "G-rex" was found in a rock layer 90 meters below where "Wankelrex" was found, and Horner says "G-rex" are thought to be 3 million years older than other known specimens (like "Wankelrex"). Horner also says that "G-rex" have thighbone and shinbone of equal length, while "Wankelrex", have longer thighbone than shinbone. Horner argue it is an indication that Tyrannosaurus over time lost the ability to run and evolved to more specialization as a walking scavenger. It has been argued by Garner, however, that the shinbone of "Wankelrex" are restored from broken fragments,[3] making it inaproppriate as reference in comparative morphology. Also, according to other reports, "G-rex" also have longer thighbone (1.26 meters)[4] than shinbone (1.12 meters).[5] Holtz also points out that longer thighbones than shinbones is a condition also found in horses, which are fast running animals. A shorter shinbone might be compensated by a relatively long metatarsus, which is sen both in horses and tyrannosaurids.[2]
Other scientists have argued that Tyrannosaurus could have had a well-developed sense of sight with binocular vision, typical of a predator,[6] and a well-developed sense of smell in Tyrannosaurus could have been used for hunting, rather than just finding carcasses. Evidences for a predatory lifestyle in Tyrannosaurus includes discoveries of skeletons from herbivorous dinosaurs like Edmontosaurus and Triceratops, with evidence of healed bitemarks on them, indicating they survived attacks from big predators, possibly Tyrannosaurus.[7][8]
Related programs
- The Animal World (1956, narrated by Theodore von Eltz, directed by Irwin Allen)
- Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards (1970, directed by Wah Ming Chang who reedited a new version of this same film in 1986)
- The Great Dinosaur Discovery (one-hour-long original version, 1973, produced by Steve Linton and directed by John Linton, this Brigham Young University documentary follows paleontologist James A. Jensen while he discovers new dinosaur specimens at the Dry Mesa Quarry, in Western Colorado)
- The Great Dinosaur Discovery (24-minute-long educational version, 1976, produced by Steve Linton and directed by John Linton)
- Horizon: The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs (1976, season 13 / episode 2, narrated by Paul Vaughan, written and produced by Robin Brightwell & Robin Bates)
- Dinosaurs: Fun, Fact and Fantasy (1982, with Derek Griffiths as the voice of Dil the Crocodile, directed by Clive Doig)
- Dinosaur! (1985, hosted by Christopher Reeve, directed by Robert Guenette)
- Dinosaurs! – A Fun-Filled Trip Back in Time! (1987, narrated by Josette DiCarlo, hosted by Fred Savage, directed by Ray Cioni & Kelli Bixler; claymation footage from the 1980 short film Dinosaur directed by Will Vinton)
- The Infinite Voyage: The Great Dinosaur Hunt (1989, season 2 / episode 2, narrated by Fritz Weaver, directed by Lionel Friedberg)
- The Great Dinosaur Hunt (1991, narrated by Kenneth Welsh, directed by Tom Radford & Andy Thomson; in spite of sharing a similar title, this documentary is completely different than the Infinite Voyage programme: that one was released in 1991 within the GoodTimes Home Video collection of VHS tapes, edited by Radford and Thomson with the same reels obtained during the filming of The Hunt for China's Dinosaurs)
- The Hunt for China's Dinosaurs (1991, narrated by Peter Thomas, directed by Tom Radford & Andy Thomson; this documentary was first aired as a NOVA programme on February the 5th, 1991, and was edited by Radford and Thomson with the same reels obtained during the filming of The Great Dinosaur Hunt)
- Dinosaur! (1991, four-part miniseries, hosted by Walter Cronkite, directed by Jim Black & Christopher Rowley; in spite of sharing the same title, this four-part miniseries has nothing to do with the TV documentary film that was hosted by Christopher Reeve in 1985)
- The Dinosaurs! (1992, four-part miniseries, narrated by Barbara Feldon, directed by Trudi Brown & Kathi White)
- Dinosaurs: Messages in Stone (1993, hosted by Leslie Nielsen, directed by John Robichaud; this documentary was re-released in 1998 under the title Dinosaur Park)
- Eyewitness: Dinosaur (1994, narrated by Andrew Sachs, produced by Ben Southwell)
- Paleoworld (1994-1997, 4 seasons / 50 episodes, narrated by Ben Gazzara, directed by Greg Francis)
- Dinosaurs: Myths & Reality (1995, hosted by Fred Applegate, directed by Graham Holloway)
- Dinosaur Hunters (1996, written and directed by Kage Glantz credited as Kage Kleiner, narrated by Michael Carroll, a National Geographic documentary about the 1990s AMNH expeditions led in the Gobi Desert by paleontologists Mike Novacek and Mark Norell)
- The Ultimate Guide: Tyrannosaurus rex (1996, narrated by Will Lyman, directed by Jane Armstrong)
- Beyond T-Rex (1997, narrated by Michael McNally, directed by Charles C. Stuart)
- T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998, directed by Brett Leonard)
- When Dinosaurs Ruled (1999, six-part miniseries, narrated by Jeff Goldblum, directed by Tony Mitchell)
- Walking with Dinosaurs (1999, six-part miniseries, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, directed by Tim Haines & Jasper James)
- Walking with Beasts (2001, six-part miniseries, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, directed by Jasper James & Nigel Paterson)
- When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001, narrated by John Goodman, directed by Pierre de Lespinois)
- The Ballad of Big Al (2001, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, produced by Tim Haines & Jasper James)
- Chased by Dinosaurs (2002, hosted by Nigel Marven, directed by Tim Haines & Jasper James)
- Horizon: The Mystery of the Jurassic (2002, narrated by Jack Fortune, written and directed by Jonathan Renouf)
- Walking with Cavemen (2003, four-part miniseries, hosted and narrated by Robert Winston, directed by Richard Dale & Pierre de Lespinois)
- Sea Monsters (2003, three-part miniseries, hosted by Nigel Marven, directed by Jasper James)
- Dinosaur Planet (2003, four-part miniseries, narrated by Christian Slater, hosted by Scott D. Sampson, directed by Pierre de Lespinois)
- Before We Ruled the Earth (2003, two-part miniseries, narrated by Linda Hunt & John Slattery, directed by Pierre de Lespinois)
- Walking with Monsters (2005, three-part miniseries, Kenneth Branagh, directed by Chloe Leland & Tim Haines)
- Prehistoric Park (2006, six-part miniseries, narrated by David Jason, hosted by Nigel Marven, directed by Sid Bennett, Karen Kelly & Matthew Thompson)
- Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia (2007, narrated by Donald Sutherland, directed by Marc Fafard)
- Dinosaurs Alive! (2007, narrated by Michael Douglas, directed by David Clark & Bayley Silleck)
- Jurassic Fight Club (2008, 12-part miniseries, narrated by Erik Thompson, directed by Kreg Lauterbach)
- Clash of the Dinosaurs (2009, four-part miniseries, narrated by Jason Hildebrandt, directed by Nick Green)
- Bizarre Dinosaurs (2009, narrated by Peter Cullen, directed by Jenny Kubo)
- Dinosaurs Decoded (2009, narrated by Michael Carroll, written, produced and directed by Dan Levitt)
- Prehistoric Assassins (2010, two-part miniseries -"Claws and Jaws" & "Blood in the Water"-, narrated by Phil Crowley, written and produced by Sean Dash)
- Prehistoric (2010, four-part miniseries, written and produced by Sven Berkemeier)
- Last Day of the Dinosaurs (2010, narrated by Bill Mondy, directed by Richard Dale, this documentary reuses footage from Clash of the Dinosaurs)
- Land of Dinosaurs (2010, directed by Lee Dong-hui)
- Tyrannosaurus Sex (2010, narrated by Michael Carroll, directed by Gabriel Gornell)
- Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters (2011, written and hosted by Tom Holland, directed by Jamie Muir)
- Planet Dinosaur (2011, six-part miniseries, narrated by John Hurt, directed by Nigel Paterson)
- Extinct: A Horizon Guide to Dinosaurs (2011, hosted by Dallas Campbell, directed by Penny Palmer, this documentary reuses Horizon footage)
- Dinosaur Revolution (2011, narrated by Rick Robles, directed by David Krentz & Erik Nelson)
- Dinotasia (2012, narrated by Werner Herzog, directed by David Krentz, Erik Nelson and David E. Duncan, Dinotasia utilises used and unused footage from Dinosaur Revolution)
- Adventures of Ceratops (2014, two-part miniseries, directed by Hong Sang-woon, Kim Hwan-gyun & Lee Dong-hui)
- Dinosaur Britain (2015, two-part miniseries, hosted by Ellie Harrison, directed by Gareth Johnson)
References/external links
- ↑ Locke R, 2001, "Killing a Legend: New Evidence Paints T. Rex as a Nasty Scavenger, Not a Vicious Hunter", dsc.discovery.com, read 11-7-2012.
- 1 2 Holtz T.R.jr. "A critical re-appraisal of the obligate scavenging hypothesis for Tyrannosaurus rex and other tyrant dinosaurs", in Tanke D.H., Carpenter K & Skrepnick M.W. Mesozoic Vertebrate Life (Indiana University Press, 2001), p. 370-396.
- ↑ http://www.cmnh.org/dinoarch/2001Sep/msg00522.html.
- ↑ Larson P.L., "Variation and Sexual Dimorphism in Tyrannosaurus rex", in Larson P.L. & Carpenter K, Tyrannosaurus rex, the Tyrant King (Indiana University Press, 2008), p. 103-130.
- ↑ Horner J.R. & Padian K. (2004), "Age and growth dynamics of Tyrannosaurus rex", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 271(1551): p. 1875-1880.
- ↑ Stevens K.A. (2006), "Binocular vision in theropod dinosaurs" Archived 2012-03-23 at the Wayback Machine., Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(2): p. 321-330.
- ↑ Carpenter, Kenneth (1998). "Evidence of predatory behavior by theropod dinosaurs" (PDF). Gaia. 15: 135–144.
- ↑ Happ, John; Carpenter, Kenneth (2008). "An analysis of predator-prey behavior in a head-to-head encounter between Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops". In Carpenter, Kenneth; and Larson, Peter E. (editors). Tyrannosaurus rex, the Tyrant King (Life of the Past). Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 355–368. ISBN 0-253-35087-5.