However, even assuming that Seebacher (2001) was correct in
suggesting that Protoceratops had a relatively low mass in proportion
to its length, it seems unlikely that a single adult Velociraptor (i.e. IVPP
V16138) could have consumed almost all of the flesh on an adult
Protoceratops (i.e. IVPP V16137) during a single bout of feeding. Group
hunting has been suggested for dromaeosaurs in the past (Ostrom,
1990 — though not Velociraptor explicitly) so there is also the
possibility that a group was feeding on the carcass. Accordingly, the
inference of late-stage feeding in the mandibular region further
implies either that at least one individual Velociraptor was scavenging
upon a carcass that had already been partly defleshed, or that several
individuals of Velociraptor killed the Protoceratops and consumed so
much of the readily accessible flesh of the limbs and torso that they
proceeded to attack the head. The two possibilities are impossible to
distinguish with certainty, although the occurrence of only two shed
crowns may suggest that IVPP V16138 is more likely to represent a
single scavenging individual than the sole evidence of a predatory
group (tooth crowns are very common at inferred dromaeosaur kill
sites — see Ostrom, 1990; Roach and Brinkman, 2007). Furthermore, it
is possible that even a carcass as small as about 25 kg (including bones
and other inedible tissues) would have provided a significant meal for
an entire pack of small dromaeosaurs. Scavenging is more likely than
predation to involve late-stage feeding, since scavengers often
encounter carcasses that have already been partly denuded of flesh.
However, even assuming that Seebacher (2001) was correct in
suggesting that Protoceratops had a relatively low mass in proportion
to its length, it seems unlikely that a single adult Velociraptor (i.e. IVPP
V16138) could have consumed almost all of the flesh on an adult
Protoceratops (i.e. IVPP V16137) during a single bout of feeding. Group
hunting has been suggested for dromaeosaurs in the past (Ostrom,
1990 — though not Velociraptor explicitly) so there is also the
possibility that a group was feeding on the carcass. Accordingly, the
inference of late-stage feeding in the mandibular region further
implies either that at least one individual Velociraptor was scavenging
upon a carcass that had already been partly defleshed, or that several
individuals of Velociraptor killed the Protoceratops and consumed so
much of the readily accessible flesh of the limbs and torso that they
proceeded to attack the head. The two possibilities are impossible to
distinguish with certainty, although the occurrence of only two shed
crowns may suggest that IVPP V16138 is more likely to represent a
single scavenging individual than the sole evidence of a predatory
group (tooth crowns are very common at inferred dromaeosaur kill
sites — see Ostrom, 1990; Roach and Brinkman, 2007). Furthermore, it
is possible that even a carcass as small as about 25 kg (including bones
and other inedible tissues) would have provided a significant meal for
an entire pack of small dromaeosaurs. Scavenging is more likely than
predation to involve late-stage feeding, since scavengers often
encounter carcasses that have already been partly denuded of flesh.
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