Cannibalism and Feeding Habits of Dinosaurs
Cannibalism is a long-standing taboo in our society; the thought of humans preying on other humans for a food source disgusts and astounds us. Though the practice is not common amongst modern day humans there is some evidence to suggest that ancient humans resorted to such measures, and a recent discovery in Madagascar attests to the possibility that some carnivorous dinosaurs fed on their own species (Perkins, 2003).
Majungatholus atopus roamed the plains of northwestern Madagascar about 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous (Perkins, 2003; Rogers et al, 2003). The discovery of 21 tooth-marked elements originating from two Majungatholus atopus individuals suggests evidence that the dinosaur supplemented its diet by feeding on its own dead or hunting them (Rogers et al, 2003). It cannot be confirmed whether they were purely scavengers, hunters, or both. Scientists are certain that the marks are not the doing of any other predator because the teeth marks are not consistent with any other known species that lived in the area. Only one other theropod that inhabited the area during the time Majungatholus atopus did, Masiakasaurus knopfleri, had teeth and bite marks too small to have caused these markings. Two large crocodile species also shared the same ecosystem but their teeth were “too blunt and too irregularly spaced to have produced the narrow grooves found on the Majungatholus bones”(Perkins, 2003). The tooth marks on at least nine Majungatholus elements attest to intertooth spacing in the perpetrators jaw and denticle drag patterns consistent enough to make a compelling case for Majungatholus feeding on other Majungatholus (Rogers et al, 2003).
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...ories of why dinosaurs went extinct abound, and as there is no theory yet to be truly confirmed as the “right one”, my theory of dinosaur cannibalism is also purely anecdotal. The discovery of the cannibalistic Majungatholus atopus in Madagascar is an important scientific find because it confirms a long-standing theory of cannibalism among certain carnivorous dinosaurs. Behavioral patterns of extinct animals are difficult to establish; however, these bones give authentication to previous unfounded beliefs about the ancient feeding practices of some dinosaurs.
“A sandwich is a sandwich, but a manwich is a meal”
-Jeffery Dahmer
References
Perkins, Sid.2003 Family Meal: Cannibal dinosaur known by its bones. Science News, vol.163: p.211
Rogers,Raymond; et al. 2003. Cannibalism in Madagascan dinosaur Majungatholus atopus. Nature, vol.422: pp.515-518.
Ceratopsians and Pachycephalosaurs Around 144 million years ago, began the emergence of the Ornithischian dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period and diversified into North America and Asia. Ornithischians were classified as having a hip structure similar to that of birds, although they are not the descendants of birds. Marginocephalians, meaning "fringed heads" are a group of Ornithischians that have a distinctive skull structure, consisting of a slight shelf or bony frill on the back of the skull, a unique palate, and a short hip structure. These herbivores include two major groups: the Ceratopsians and the Pachcephalosaurians. These plant-eaters include the Ceratopsians, horned dinosaurs such as the Triceratops, Styrachosaurus, Pentaceratops, and the Protoceratops.
McBroom, Patricia, “Meat-eating Was Essential for Human Evolution.” UC Berkeley. University of California at Berkeley. CA. Jun 14, 1999. Web. 28 Apr.
“Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs” is written by Stephen Jay Gould, professor of geology and zoology at Harvard. This essay is one of more than a hundred articles on evolution, zoology, and paleontology published by Gould in national magazines and journals. It tells about scientific proposals for the extinction of dinosaurs – a confusing but an exciting problem that humanity tries to solve. By analyzing and describing each of the claims for the reptiles’ demise – sex, drugs, and disasters – Gould differentiates bad science from good science and explains what makes some theories silly speculations, while the other, a testable hypothesis.
Dinosaur fossils are one of the few ways in which scientists can study the history of life on earth millions of years ago. Each new discovery is unique in its own way and provides valuable information about the past. No two finds are exactly identical; therefore, when dinosaur remains are uncovered, the possibility and excitement of new information or even a new species exists. Until the year 2000, no dinosaur has ever been found with a fossilized heart. Scientists at North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences discovered a sixty-six million year old Thescelosaurus with a heart.
The dinosaur Majungatholus atopus is a meat-eating dinosaur that lived 65 to 70 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, in what is now the island of Madagascar. The Majungatholus has long been known for being a carnivorous dinosaur, but it wasn’t until recently that researchers revealed that this dinosaur was probably a cannibal. They were able to conclude that this was probably the case as a result of discovering several bones of the Majungatholus dinosaur with specific tooth marks in them that researchers have proven belonged to the Majungatholus dinosaur. In her 2003 press release for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Cheryl Dybas quoted the NSF program director Richard Lane, “this research greatly expands our understanding of how dinosaur species related to each other in the context of their environment, and also serves as a way of increasing public awareness of and appreciation for the earth sciences."1[1]
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted for a partition resolution that led to the establishment of the nation of Israel in May, 1948. This was great news for Jews in Palestine and the diaspora as it meant the fulfillment of the quest for the rebirth of their nation in their previous homeland after many years of wandering (Pappe, 2006, p. 12). However, their Palestinian Arab counterparts opposed to the establishment from the start felt cheated by the international community and remained categorical that the final answer to the Jewish problem would only be solved in blood and fire (Karsh, 2002, p. 8).
The MMR vaccine is administered between the ages of 12-15 months. When a child develops autism, their parents describe the disease as the child growing normally until they reach an age where a degenerative process starts. This problem usually happens around the age of 2 years. Although parents do say the child was growing normally, many researchers do not believe that the child was actually growing normally until the age of 1-2 years but some children do go through a degenerative process and this usually happens after the administration of MMR vaccine. The question is does MMR have a true relation with the development of autism or is it just a coincidence?
Over the last twenty years there has been a very large increase in the number of mandatory vaccinations, which leads many people to believe that the increase in the number of vaccinations has a direct correlation with the increase of childhood Autism. “Today, 40 percent of American parents have chosen to delay or refuse a recommended or mandated vaccine for their children (Largent, 18)”. Many parents are too young to remember when communicable diseases could ravage a classroom or school. Polio could paralyze ten thousand children in a year. Rubella coul...
I feel that Gerber’s and Offits’ approach and perspective is much more convincing than Coghlan’s because of how they structured their article with the three hypotheses and then disproving each of them with scientific data. Furthermore, they have 39 references cited to help them come to the conclusion that vaccines are the not the link to autism. Due to the many references and case studies this article would be extremely useful to other researchers or parents interested in the vaccine-autism controversy.
Due to the use of Anthropophagy for leisure purposes, it is evident that cannibalism is a topic of much interest among humans, aside from its label as a social taboo. Technically, a human’s eating of another human has a chemical effect on the blood. Too much human meat causes a build up of vitamin A and amino acids such as homocysteine in the bloodstream, which could cause congenital defects in future offspring. However, if human organs which are rich in B vitamins and folic acid are eaten along with the human meat, homocysteine is not able to metabolize in the bloodstream. This means that cannibalism could hypothetically be the basis of a healthy diet (“Natural Food”).
Looking at the media and its affect on vaccination the article, “Media Coverage of the Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism...
...e. "A Hypothesis to Explain the Role of Meat-Eating in Human Evolution." Www.cnr.berkely.edu. 4 Feb. 2001. Web. .
During the Bronze Age, the Minoan civilization; situated on the cultural bridge Island of Crete, greatly influenced the Aegean Islands as well as the Greece mainland (75). Though they were not Greeks, the Minoans kept detail records in a form of Greek. These peoples were ruled by a King who was supported by a bureaucracy and centered on a palace (75). This form of organization was typical of many early civilizations but changed tremendously after this age (75). After the Minoans, the Mycenaeans arose and ruled in a similar fashion to the Minoans. The Mycenaeans; though also non-Greek, settled in the Greek mainland and was ruled by a King who held a royal domain, was given the ability to appoint officials, and to command servants among other responsibilities (77). After the fall of the Mycenaean empire, many Greek peoples spread eastward, ended trade with the old civilizations, and internally throughout parts of Greece (78). This period led Greek peoples to move into smaller communities with little communication between them (78). The initial organization of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations were as close to unification as Greek history allowed until the Macedonians arrived. However, these successful civilizations were not Greek but situated themselves on what became Greece and merely demonstrated a slight similarity in language. After the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, Greeks entered though disorganized and independent.
... more epidemic outbreak of other deadly diseases. Rep. Henry Waxman states, “Yet as we in crease research, we must also make sure that every parent knows that the best available science does not support a link between vaccines and autism” (662 Waxman).
Fama et al. (1969) portrayed a stock market where all available information is reflected in its prices. Any newly disclosed information would cause an immediate reaction, and prices would be fully re-evaluated and adjusted to a new fair value that incorporate