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: 7/2/2008 Subject: animal questions
Question Hi, I read in books that rat bites are extremely deadly. How deadly is it?
Why did Thylacosmilus have such long saber teeth? It would make opening its mouth wide enough to deliver bites very hard to do.
Smilodon versus Homotherium
Which animals, present or prehistoric would fall prey to a lone Tyrannosaurus?
Which animals, present or prehistoric would fall prey to a lone Giganotosaurus?
Which animals, present or prehistoric would fall prey to a lone Spinosaurus?
Which animals, present or prehistoric would fall prey to a lone Carcharodontosaurus?
Thank you
Answer Hi Eva
It depends on what diseases the rat has, a bite from a domestic rat is not likely to be anything bt painful however a bite from a sewer rat is likely to get infected and transmit a number of deadly diseases and should be sterilized immediatly.
It is very likely that like Smilodon and other sabre toothed animals Thylacosmilus could open it's jaws quite wide compared to modern animals so it would not have found it too hard to bite.
The Smilodon would win, it was larger and much stronger.
Practically every land animal except those of very small size that has ever lived would be prey to even a lone Tyrannosaurus. It's massive jaws could easily inflict fatal wounds to anything it attacked and as long as it was an ambush predator it would be able to catch any land animal. Even those that live in shallow water would not be above T.rex so crocodiles, anacondas, turtles etc would all be under threat. Some very large sauropods like Argentinosaurus and other giant theropods may be too large not to count as prey technically however a hungry Tyrannosaurus would be likely to attack anything.
A Giganotosaurus would be pretty much as dangerous as a Tyrannosaurus and would prey on anything. Even the ankylosaurs would be prey as large theropods such as Giganotosaurus and T.rex could flip them on their backs and attack their unarmoured underside. Large tortoises would possibly be safe as Giganotosaurus' teeth were designed for slicing and not really for crushing. Carcharodontosaurus was very similar to Giganotosaurus in shape and size and would be able to prey on similar things.
Spinosaurus would be able to prey on most terrestrial animals but would not be able to kill large animals due to it's jaws not supporting the same amount of muscle that most other large theropods did and that it's teeth were not shaped for piercing thic layers of scale, muscle and in the case of mammals, fat.
