Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 09:44:55 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:29:47 PM
Yeah, that's quite possible IMHO.

I'm still doing adult T-Rex packs, One male, the rest females, like lion prides but more dangerous.

You can do whatever you want....

.... as long as your Tyrannosaurus rex has feathers. 

Well we have to be scientifically accurate don't we?

How about giving them a feather crest? Something they can move like the cockatoos. Can make them different colors depending of the environment, a polar one is white with a heavier feather coat.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:47:06 PM

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 09:44:55 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:29:47 PM
Yeah, that's quite possible IMHO.

I'm still doing adult T-Rex packs, One male, the rest females, like lion prides but more dangerous.

You can do whatever you want....

.... as long as your Tyrannosaurus rex has feathers. 

Well we have to be scientifically accurate don't we?

How about giving them a feather crest? Something they can move like the cockatoos. Can make them different colors depending of the environment, a polar one is white with a heavier feather coat.

Did you click on my link? ( )

If you want to be scientifically accurate, those feathered coats in those two pics aren't bad. Tyrannosaurs seem to outside the clade that has true, vaned (pennaceous) feathers like cockatoos or other modern birds. Instead, they're more fuzzy, like the down on a chick. That's why the two in the art look like that. Shaggy is a feature.

But inertial homeothermy. We know tyrannosaur(id)s that have feathers, even big one like Yutyrannus, which weighed a bit over a ton. But the feathered tyrant lived in cold regions. In warmer regions, which was most of the world in the Mesozoic, big creatures tend to be more worried about overheating. Think of the African elephant vs. the woolly mammoth of the Siberian steppes. It's likely that the Tyrannosaurus rex was mostly bare.

Though there are two caveats to that. One is signalling. Feathers are great, much better than hair, at showing off. Whether an animal wants to pick up a hot date, scare away something, or just blend in, colors and patterns and big crests and puffy things can be essential elements of body fashion. So depending on use, and depending on season, and depending on so forth, at least some feathers might be retained just to signal whatever.

The other caveat is feathers aren't hair. Big mammals get naked in the tropics because hair retains heat. Feathers can do that as well, even better than hair -- while polar bear hair is pretty impressive, it's got nothing on those tiny birds who live in areas where temperatures plummet to below freezing, and whose bodies would turn to ice almost instantly if just one of their feathers was broken. They're really good at it. But unlike hair, feathers can also be used to dissipate heat. Think of the ostrich, a pretty big animal. But it's not naked. Instead, they retain feathers, but feathers mostly on the upper surface of their body. And they have various thermoregulation techniques like holding their feathers out at certain angles or fanning that help get rid of heat when the day is long and heat strokey.

So the most conservative bet is Tyrannosaurus has feathers like an elephant has hair. Technically yes, but very little. The best guess is probably slightly more, some feathers for display or camo. But if they're active hunters -- and that seems to be the case -- they're probably more on the subtle side, designed to blend in like a lion on the veldt or leopard in the jungle. It's a bit less likely, but they could be more flamboyant, at least seasonally in mating season. And even less likely, but still within the realms of plausibility, is a more complete or half-coat like an ostrich. Though there's a good argument against that, because, again, they don't have fancy feathers, but ostrich feathers are an interim stage anyway (plumaceous) so maybe. Finally, we can rule out a full 100% coat, because they've found fossilized skin impressions that show scales.

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 10:19:12 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:47:06 PM

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 09:44:55 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:29:47 PM
Yeah, that's quite possible IMHO.

I'm still doing adult T-Rex packs, One male, the rest females, like lion prides but more dangerous.

You can do whatever you want....

.... as long as your Tyrannosaurus rex has feathers. 

Well we have to be scientifically accurate don't we?

How about giving them a feather crest? Something they can move like the cockatoos. Can make them different colors depending of the environment, a polar one is white with a heavier feather coat.

Did you click on my link? ( )

If you want to be scientifically accurate, those feathered coats in those two pics aren't bad. Tyrannosaurs seem to outside the clade that has true, veined (pennaceous) feathers like cockatoos or other modern birds. Instead, they're more fuzzy, like the down on a chick. That's why the two in the art look like that. Shaggy is a feature.

But inertial homeothermy. We know tyrannosaur(id)s that have feathers, even big one like Yutyrannus, which weighed a bit over a ton. But the feathered tyrant lived in cold regions. In warmer regions, which was most of the world in the Mesozoic, big creatures tend to be more worried about overheating. Think of the African elephant vs. the woolly mammoth of the Siberian steppes. It's likely that the Tyrannosaurus rex was mostly bare.

Though there are two caveats to that. One is signalling. Feathers are great, much better than hair, at showing off. Whether an animal wants to pick up a hot date, scare away something, or just blend in, colors and patterns and big crests and puffy things can be essential elements of body fashion. So depending on use, and depending on season, and depending on so forth, at least some feathers might be retained just to signal whatever.

The other caveat is feathers aren't hair. Big mammals get naked in the tropics because hair retains heat. Feathers can do that as well, even better than hair -- while polar bear hair is pretty impressive, it's got nothing on those tiny birds who live in areas where temperatures plummet to below freezing, and whose bodies would turn to ice almost instantly if just one of their feathers was broken. They're really good at it. But unlike hair, feathers can also be used to dissipate heat. Think of the ostrich, a pretty big animal. But it's not naked. Instead, they retain feathers, but feathers mostly on the upper surface of their body. And they have various thermoregulation techniques like holding their feathers out at certain angles or fanning that help get rid of heat when the day is long and heat strokey.

So the most conservative bet is Tyrannosaurus has feathers like an elephant has hair. Technically yes, but very little. The best guess is probably slightly more, some feathers for display or camo. But if they're active hunters -- and that seems to be the case -- they're probably more on the subtle side, designed to blend in like a lion on the veldt or leopard in the jungle. It's a bit less likely, but they could be more flamboyant, at least seasonally in mating season. And a bit less likely, but still plausible, is a more complete or half-coat like an ostrich. Though there's a good argument against that, because, again, they don't have ostrich feathers with the veins that can be raised and lowered and made into a smooth coat and all that fancy stuff. They're fuzzier, and might retain heat anyway. Finally, we can rule out a full 100% coat, because they've found fossilized skin impressions that show scales.

Yeah, saw the chickenosaurus 

Another thing to take into consideration is distance from the floor, both to loos or gain heat by radiation to/from it.

Ostritch is far from the ground, add to it their feathers are likely very diferent from those on a penguin...

Yeah, I knew their feathers weren't like modern feathers but more like fuzz.

But modern feathers look cooler.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 10:26:08 PM
Ostritch is far from the ground, add to it their feathers are likely very diferent from those on a penguin...

Yeah, I knew their feathers weren't like modern feathers but more like fuzz.

But modern feathers look cooler.

Yeah, I corrected that a bit (it's easy to skip over things when writing fast). The whole series of feather advancements gets pretty complex. If anyone's interested in the topic, Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson is an outstanding book. (Not a dino book, though.)

Agree that modern feathers look cooler, but so far that seem restricted to the more bird like dinos, like the mistakenly labeled egg-thiefs, the troodontids, and the raptors. But that's just more of an excuse to give them wild colors and racing stripes.

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 10:35:02 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 10:26:08 PM
Ostritch is far from the ground, add to it their feathers are likely very diferent from those on a penguin...

Yeah, I knew their feathers weren't like modern feathers but more like fuzz.

But modern feathers look cooler.

Yeah, I corrected that a bit (it's easy to skip over things when writing fast). The whole series of feather advancements gets pretty complex. If anyone's interested in the topic, Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson is an outstanding book.

Agree that modern feathers look cooler, but so far that seem restricted to the more bird like dinos, like the mistakenly labeled egg-thiefs, the troodontids, and the raptors.

Ovoraptors, libelled as egg-thiefs for the sin of caring after their eggs.

I can easily believe that young T Rex individuals would hunt together in packs.  Though, I would imagine that mature males would not be able to cooperate well.  Mature males probably fought aggressively over females, and territory.

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 10:36:52 PM

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 10:35:02 PM
Agree that modern feathers look cooler, but so far that seem restricted to the more bird like dinos, like the mistakenly labeled egg-thiefs, the troodontids, and the raptors.

Ovoraptors, libelled as egg-thiefs for the sin of caring after their eggs.

And eternally stuck with that name because early biologists (correctly) decided that having one consistent universal forever name is more important than little details like what the name means.

Quote from: Jam The MF on April 20, 2021, 10:44:13 PM
I can easily believe that young T Rex individuals would hunt together in packs.  Though, I would imagine that mature males would not be able to cooperate well.  Mature males probably fought aggressively over females, and territory.

T-Rex Prides: One male and lots of females.

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 10:45:07 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 10:36:52 PM

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 10:35:02 PM
Agree that modern feathers look cooler, but so far that seem restricted to the more bird like dinos, like the mistakenly labeled egg-thiefs, the troodontids, and the raptors.

Ovoraptors, libelled as egg-thiefs for the sin of caring after their eggs.

And eternally stuck with that name because early biologists (correctly) decided that having one consistent universal forever name is more important than little details like what the name means.

Still libell 

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 11:12:57 PM

Quote from: Jam The MF on April 20, 2021, 10:44:13 PM
I can easily believe that young T Rex individuals would hunt together in packs.  Though, I would imagine that mature males would not be able to cooperate well.  Mature males probably fought aggressively over females, and territory.

T-Rex Prides: One male and lots of females.

Greetings!

That's right, Geeky! I'm having packs of T-Rexes running around in my world--in prides, of a strong male, surrounded by a group of females. Good idea there, brother!

Just think of the players being chased across the steppe by a half dozen or dozen hungry T-Rexes!!!!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: SHARK on April 21, 2021, 04:36:46 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 11:12:57 PM

Quote from: Jam The MF on April 20, 2021, 10:44:13 PM
I can easily believe that young T Rex individuals would hunt together in packs.  Though, I would imagine that mature males would not be able to cooperate well.  Mature males probably fought aggressively over females, and territory.

T-Rex Prides: One male and lots of females.

Greetings!

That's right, Geeky! I'm having packs of T-Rexes running around in my world--in prides, of a strong male, surrounded by a group of females. Good idea there, brother!

Just think of the players being chased across the steppe by a half dozen or dozen hungry T-Rexes!!!!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Hi there brother!

Pants shitting terror man, pants shitting terror...

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 09:44:55 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:29:47 PM
Yeah, that's quite possible IMHO.

I'm still doing adult T-Rex packs, One male, the rest females, like lion prides but more dangerous.

You can do whatever you want....

.... as long as your Tyrannosaurus rex has feathers. 

I guess if I wanted a fantasy version of a T-Rex

Quote from: Shasarak on April 21, 2021, 06:22:07 PM

Quote from: Pat on April 20, 2021, 09:44:55 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 09:29:47 PM
Yeah, that's quite possible IMHO.

I'm still doing adult T-Rex packs, One male, the rest females, like lion prides but more dangerous.

You can do whatever you want....

.... as long as your Tyrannosaurus rex has feathers. 

I guess if I wanted a fantasy version of a T-Rex

Chuck Tingle probably has you covered.

Quote from: SHARK on April 21, 2021, 04:36:46 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 11:12:57 PM

Quote from: Jam The MF on April 20, 2021, 10:44:13 PM
I can easily believe that young T Rex individuals would hunt together in packs.  Though, I would imagine that mature males would not be able to cooperate well.  Mature males probably fought aggressively over females, and territory.

T-Rex Prides: One male and lots of females.

Greetings!

That's right, Geeky! I'm having packs of T-Rexes running around in my world--in prides, of a strong male, surrounded by a group of females. Good idea there, brother!

Just think of the players being chased across the steppe by a half dozen or dozen hungry T-Rexes!!!!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

I'm casting Meteor Swarm, on that nightmare right there!!!

Quote from: SHARK on April 21, 2021, 04:36:46 PM

Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 20, 2021, 11:12:57 PM

Quote from: Jam The MF on April 20, 2021, 10:44:13 PM
I can easily believe that young T Rex individuals would hunt together in packs.  Though, I would imagine that mature males would not be able to cooperate well.  Mature males probably fought aggressively over females, and territory.

T-Rex Prides: One male and lots of females.

Greetings!

That's right, Geeky! I'm having packs of T-Rexes running around in my world--in prides, of a strong male, surrounded by a group of females. Good idea there, brother!

Just think of the players being chased across the steppe by a half dozen or dozen hungry T-Rexes!!!!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

And then you see the other ones that they've been driving you towards, because prides can do far more tactics than a simple rushdown. And players lose it when faced with smart opposition.