[Gorjus]

With those teeny li'l forearms, my money's on scavenger.

Um, and that logic applies to boa constrictors how? (*smile*)

Actually, I agree it was likely to be a scavenger, but I saw an interesting show on Discover (or something) that offered an interim condition. Carnosaur teeth were so full of rotting meat (didn't brush or floss, y'know) that they were really likely to cause a serious infection with even a single bite.

So, here's a scenario. T-Rex comes upon a herd of very slow-moving sauropods (using their smell to find them if nothing else) and snaps at one of them. If he connects (happens reasonably often, even if he can't see well enough to bite at specific vulnerable areas and achieve a quick kill), the sauropod gets infected with whatever was growing in the T-Rex's teeth and dies. T-Rex (one or another of them) finds the carcass and feeds on that.

What I like best about that sort of image is that it's not a simple either/or model, and life is usually full of strange combinations of things.

[mewzilla]

Works for me. And I really appreciate your point about simple models. I mean, how are they going to classify Mr. T? A certain percentage of kills makes him predator vs. a scavenger? If so they're going to have a problem since he's not around to ask :)

[katana]

That's exactly how Komodo Dragons kill their prey (bite - infect - wait for it to die - lunch!) so your point is excellent.