AboutDaniel Moellic Expertise I can answer a variety of questions on interspecies conflict including hypothetical questions. I can go into detail if necessary. I would also like to mention that I prefer questions on reptiles vs mammals or reptiles in general however my best topic is theropod dinosaurs.
Experience I have studied animals both living and extinct since I was 4 and was particularly fascinated by theropods. I am famous at school for knowing everything about various animals and how they behave
Education/Credentials I have an A* in biology (GCSE level)
Expert: Daniel Moellic Date: 7/4/2008 Subject: Prehistoric battles
Question QUESTION: Sorry to bother you, I was just curious about the following (I tried to think up fights that [probably] actually happened in real life)(note: all the animals are healthy adults at max. size, and all battles are one on one):
*Velociraptor vs Protoceratops
*Tarbosaurus vs Therizinosaurus
*Velociraptor vs Oviraptor
*Velociraptor vs Homalocephale
*Postosuchus vs Plateosaurus
*Compsognathus vs Archaeopteryx
*Phorusrhacos vs Doedicurus
*Velociraptor vs Gallimimus
*Gastornis vs Ambulocetus
*Albertosaurus vs Euoplocephalus
I'm really sorry if that's too much, and thanks! :D
ANSWER: Hi Chris
Velociraptor vs Protoceratops: The Velociraptor would be likely to win. It was well designed for slitting the throat of animals the size and shape of Protoceratops using it's sickle claw. However it would have to avoid being brought down by the herbivore as Protoceratops was much heavier and stronger.
Tarbosaurus vs Therizinosaurus: It would depend on how hungry the Tarbosaurus was, a starving Tarbosaurus would be easily capable of killing a Therizinosaurus quickly due to the herbivore's very vulnerable neck. However a reasonably well fed Tarbosaurus would avoid fighting as Therizinosaurus' claws would inflict serious injuries.
Velociraptor vs Oviraptor: The Velociraptor would win, it was much better adapted for fighting.
Velociraptor vs Homalocephale: It would depend on the individual and how exerienced they were.
Postosuchus vs Plateosaurus: I think the Postosuchus would win due to it's very powerful jaws and Plateosaurus' vulnerable neck however the herbivore's thumb spikes could inflict very nasty wounds or even blind the Postosuchus so it also would depend on how fast the Plateosaurus reacted.
Compsognathus vs Archaeopteryx: The more sturdy built compy would win, as well as being stronger it was evolved for killing other small animals and as Archaeopteryx was a poor flyer it would not be able to avoid the agile compy for long.
Phorusrhacos vs Doedicurus: The Doedicurus would win, it was too armoured to be viable prey for a Phorusrhacos and the bird would find it very hard to kill the mammal. The spiked tail club that Doedicurus possessed would also be very fatal to the fragile bird.
Velociraptor vs Gallimimus: I reckon that the Gallimimus would win, it could deliver a powerful kick which would quickly incapacitate the raptor and was possibly a faster runner.
Gastornis vs Ambulocetus: If the fight was close to water the Ambulocetus would probably win, being able to ambush the bird and drag it under water. However on land the Ambulocetus would be cumbersome and unagile and the Gastornis would be able to kill it with powerful kicks.
Albertosaurus vs Euoplocephalus: Again this fight would depend on individual experience. An experinced Albertosaurus would probably have a technique for killing the Euoplocephalus, however if neither had an experince advantage I think the more well armed and armoured herbivore would win, either by fighting of the theropod or just being too much trouble to count as prey.
Thanks for asking
Feel free to ask again
Daniel
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you very much! :D I've been wondering about those for a while. One of my friends is writing a series of stories online. I think he's mimicking Animal Face-Off, prehistoric style, and I was just wondering if his interpretations are correct. So far, these are the fights he's done (some, in fact, are among the fights I asked about before, so I won't list them here):
*Sarcosuchus vs Suchomimus
*Gastonia vs Utahraptor
*Brontornis vs Smilodon
*Allosaurus vs Stegosaurus
*Entelodon vs Hyaenodon
*Beipiaosaurus vs Dilong
*Albertosaurus vs Eotriceratops
*Gorgosaurus vs Daspletosaurus
*Spinosaurus vs Carcharodontosaurus
*Iguanodon vs Baryonyx
*Triceratops vs Tyrannosaurus
*Coelophysis vs Placerias
*Megapnosaurus vs Ammosaurus
*Dromaeosaurus vs Styracosaurus
*Achillobator vs Therizinosaurus
*Tarascosaurus vs Magyarosaurus
*Crassigyrinus vs Arthropleura
*Aiolornis vs Canis (C. dirus)
*Rhamphosuchus vs Carcharodon (C. megalodon)
*Megalonyx vs Arctodus
*Gallimimus vs Adasaurus
*Saurornitholestes vs Troodon
*Panthera (P. leo) vs Smilodon
*Meganeura vs Megarachne
*Rugops vs Kryptops
*Psittacosaurus vs Dilong
*Confuciusornis vs Microraptor
I'm sorry that's so much, I didn't find this site until very recently. Thanks again!
Answer Hi again Chirostenotes
Sarcosuchus vs Suchomimus: It would depend on who was attacking. If the Sarcosuchus was attacking then it would be likely to get a hold of one of the Suchomimus' legs which would stop the dinosaur having much of a chance. However if the Suchomimus was attacking it could use it's huge bulk to pin the crocodilian underfoot whilst it attacked it. The croc could still throw the dinosaur off but it would be unlikely.
Gastonia vs Utahraptor: The Utahraptor would be likely to win, as it used it's claws to kill it would not have to worry about getting through Gastonia's armour and due to it's agility it could avoid most, if not all, of Gastonia's lunges.
Brontornis vs Smilodon: The bird though powerful and certainly capable of inflicted serious injuries on a Smilodon would still be the weaker of the two due to the Smilodon's bear like build which suggests it had massive strength. Also because birds are relatively unstable as the lack the large tail that their prehistoric ancestors had, this would make it easy for the Smilodon to bring down the Brontonis.
Allosaurus vs Stegosaurus: It would depend on the experience of the Allosaurus. An experienced Allosaurus would easily kill a Stegosaurus due to it's vulnerable head and being quite agile could avoid the herbivore's deadly tail spikes.
Entelodon vs Hyaenodon: The Hyaenadon would win if it was a H.Gigas which is the largest species, because it would larger than an Entelodon and more powerfully built. Also Hyaenadon were better built for fighting.
Beipiaosaurus vs Dilong: The Dilong would probably win, it was a powerful predator despite it's small size and would quickly overpower the Beipiaosaurus.
Albertosaurus vs Eotriceratops: The fast and powerful Albertosaurus would definetly inflict a few wounds however it would take a very experienced and large Albertosaurus to bring down the massive herbivore which would have been a fierce opponent to even the largest theropods.
Albertosaurus vs Daspletosaurus: This is like a lion vs tiger fight and is too close to call, both have their advantages and it would depend on the individuals.
Spinosaurus vs Carcharodontosaurus: The Carcharodontosaurus would win if the Spinosaurus was unable to intimidate it. This is because whilst Carcharodontosaurus was well designed for killing other large animals, Spinosaurus wasn't. It's teeth could not pierce muscle which would be necessary in a fight like this and other than their jaws giant theropods had no other effective way of fighting creatures similar in size to them.
Iguanodon vs Baryonyx: Like Spinosaurus, to which it is related, Baryonyx was a piscivore and had not evolved to kill other large animals. Whilst it's claws could have done serious harm, Baryonyx had a shorter reach than Iguanodon whose thumb spikes were quite adequate for injuring and possibly killing predators.
Triceratops vs Tyrannosaurus: As in most predator-prey relationships the predator tends to win more often in direct confrontations and though Triceratops was in a good position to gore a T.rex due to it's height, Tyrannosaurus will have probably developed techniques to avoid this such as pinning the Triceratop's skull with it's foot etc.
Coelophysis vs Placerias: The lumbering Placerias would be easy prey for the agile Coelophysis which would slowly wear it down.
Megapnosaurus vs Ammosaurus: The Ammosaurus would win, Coelophysids had jaws which were not designed to hold struggling prey which Ammosaurus would certainly count as.
Dromaeosaurus vs Styracosaurus: The sheer size of the Styracosaurus would make it relatively safe from Dromaeosaurus however juvanile Styracosaurus may have been prey.
Achillobator vs Therizinosaurus: If the Achillobator ambushed the Therizinosaurus then it would have good chances of winning, however a frontal attack would be an almost guaranteed failure as it would only take one swipe to even partially hit to permanently cripple the Achillobator.
Tarascosaurus vs Magyarosaurus: Sauropods relied mainly on their size as protection and a small sauropod would be easy prey for a Tarascosaurus.
Crassigyrinus vs Arthropleura: Crassigyrinus would be likely to win as Arthropleura evolved to kill prey much smaller than itself.
Aiolornis vs Dire wolf: Aiolornis would win, not only did it fly, it was very capable of killing large prey with it's deadly talons and powerful beak.
Rhamphosuchus vs Megalodon: Rhamphosuchus was Gharial like and again not esigned for killing large prey unlike Megalodon which was very well designed to do so.
Megalonyx vs Arctodus: I would say Arctodus would win as it was more agile and was better equipped for fighting.
Gallimimus vs Adasaurus: Much the same as "Gallimimus vs Velociraptor", Adasaurus may have been slightly larger than Veloiraptor but it had claws that were about the same size, if not smaller and would still be no match for Gallimimus.
Saurornitholestes vs Troodon: A very close fight, the Troodon would be larger but Saurornitholestes was better armed. It would depend on who struck first really.
Lion vs Smilodon; The two species will have never come in contact however if they had the much more powerfully built Smilodon would have won. ( If you meant Panthera leo atrox the result will have still probably been the same.)
Meganeura vs Megarachne: This is a non event, neither could harm the other as Meganeura was too agile and Megarachne was too well armoured.
Rugops vs Kryptops: The Rugops would win as it was larger and other than this neither had any distinct advantages in anatomy.
Psittacosaurus vs Dilong: The Dilong would easily win as Psittacosaurus had practically no ways of defending itself.
Confuciusornis vs Microraptor: It would depend on who was attacking who. In both instances it would be likely for the attacker to win.
