Archaeologists discover saber-toothed vegetarian

AP ^ | 3/24/11 | AP

[illiac]

In before the Helen Thomas and Mooochelle pics...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surprised scientists have discovered the remains of a saber-toothed vegetarian. The leaf-crunching animal — about the size of a large dog — lived 260 million years ago in what is now Brazil, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. Its upper canine teeth were nearly 5 inches long.

Such large teeth are more often the mark of a meat-eating animal, used to capture and kill prey.

[wildbill]

Maybe the long canines were used to help till the soil in preparation for planting a MichelleousObamus garden full of aragula and other tasty treats for children.

[TigersEye]

“In addition to its saber shaped fangs, the newly discovered animal named Tiarajudens eccentricus (tee-AH-ruh-HOO-denz ek-SIN-trik-us) had rows of teeth on the roof of its mouth for chewing, the researchers said. The lower jaw was incomplete, but they expect it would have had similar rows of teeth.”

[SunkenCiv]

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach · · join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Antiquity Journal  & archive  Archaeologica  Archaeology  Archaeology Channel  BAR  Bronze Age Forum  Discover  Dogpile  Eurekalert  Google  LiveScience  Mirabilis.ca  Nat Geographic  PhysOrg  Science Daily  Science News  Texas AM  Yahoo  Excerpt, or Link only?	Thanks GeronL. 260 million years ago there were no burger joints. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
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[SeeSac]

Who says you get to define the rules?

I didn't set the rules. Obviously you are not scientifically inclined.

[Rebelbase]

“Now the anthropologist will tell us that this tiger was also gay!”

In my typical smartass fashion I googled for a gay tiger image.

Going to look for eye bleach now...

[XRdsRev]

Whoever wrote the headline should buy a dictionary. Archaeologists study human remains and other things made used or altered by humans. Paleontologists study ancient animal remains.

[gleeaikin]

Its other teeth seemed to be of the grinding variety like plant eaters. The suggest that the teeth may have been defensive, or perhaps part of sexual display. I am going to guess they may have been used to rake into the earth for roots. At any rate these seem to have been Permian protomammalian/reptiles that showed great promise, but were wiped out by whatever caused the great Permian extinction, leaving the field to the early dinosaur types.

SC here is an interesting link you might want to post separately, a hot tea temperature brown dwarf star:

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/24/astronomers-discover-coldest-star-ever-video/?ncid=webmail

[blam]

"..lived 260 million years ago in what is now Brazil..."

Africa and South America were still connected at this time and would stay that way for another 140 million years.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Obviously you have a higher opinion of your inductive skills than is accurate.

[bigheadfred]

Archaeologists study human remains and other things made used or altered by humans. Paleontologists study ancient animal remains.

So a few thousand years from now, when they are studying our remains, will they be archaeologists, or paleontologists???

[bigheadfred]

The lower jaw was incomplete, but they expect it would have had similar rows of teeth.

Everybody knows, (except for the LOOK AT ME, I HAVE A Ph.D(ers)!!) for example, a beaver's front teeth keep growing. So they are constantly having to chew on wood to help keep the teeth worn down to a usable level.

Without a lower jaw, or a number of other examples of this critter, who is to say those teeth simply didn't have corresponding lower teeth to wear against.

They would have grown until the animal couldn't forage properly and died.

[SeeSac]

Obviously you have a higher opinion of your inductive skills than is accurate.

I posted nothing about my 'inductive skills'. I posted about the scientific method.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I’ll go ahead and use my inductive reasoning to surmise you are unable or unwilling to understand what I posted.

By the way, welcome to FR, noob.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks gleeaikin. I found a link to that brown dwarf article (or rather a similar one, sorry), but haven’t decided whether to post it and the dozen or so others waiting in a holding file, or to do something useful, like the laundry. :’) The day at work was remarkably unproductive.

[SunkenCiv]

Well, if they’re digging around in Poland, they’ll be Polandtologists.

[bigheadfred]

What conclusions do you think they would make, there in the far future, digging around in Poland in strata from this general time period?

“These people shore gnu how to party. And this musta been a real gas. But they musta all et the brown acid. It is the only way to explain why they are all piled higher and deeper.”

[SeeSac]

I’ll go ahead and use my inductive reasoning to surmise you are unable or unwilling to understand what I posted.

Since it was irrelevant to my posts, I do not understand why you posted it.

[Recovering_Democrat]

...and you’ve just confirmed my suspicion. G’nite.