Carnivorous Dinosaurs

http://news.nationalgeographic.com

Carnivores are generally defined as "meat-eaters" meaning their main source of nutrients comes from other animal tissues. In the food chain they are the secondary consumers as they are dependent upon herbivorous and omnivores to survive.

Types of carnivores are Dimetrodon, Megalosaurus, Suchomimus, Tyrannosaurus and Velocoraptor.

In order to attain sustenance, they need to contrive a way to attain meat. The anatomy of a typical Carnivorous dinosaur usually includes strong legs to run quickly in order to catch their prey. Their oral structure my have been large with strong jaws and sharp teeth. Deadly claws are a lethal addition, so they could terminate and then tear apart their prey. Good eyesight, a keen sense, and fined tuned instincts to form hunting strategies are some attributes of a carnivorous dinosaur.

Many of the carnivorous such as Deinonychus, Coelophysis, and Velociraptor may have hunted in pack which demonstrate social cooperation as a necessity for a good hunt for some species. Animals that are primarily scavengers (animals that do not kill their own prey), need adequate oral structure for tearing into less edible meat, and breaking bones to get the nutritious bone marrow. They have been findings from some fossils samples that indicate most carnivores are scavengers when given the opportunity.

Some dinosaurs were fish eaters, such as Baryonyx and Suchomimus. A few dinosaurs including Coelophysis have been found with small, fossilized animals within their fossil, giving information about their diet. Resulting to speculation that during seasonal lean times when food is scare may have prompted the gruesome preying upon their own kind. This substantiated the theory that some dinosaurs may have been cannibals.

A popular misconception about Dimetrodons is that they are not classically defined as a Dinosaur. As a carnivorous synapsid, Dimetrodons are mammal like reptile. They can regulate their body temperature by utilizing the sails on their backs thus increasing their metabolic rate. This gives Dimetrodons an added advantage when searching and catching their prey.