this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026
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Science Memes

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[–] credo@lemmy.world 53 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I had a hard time resolving the front legs:

[–] SolSerkonos@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like they don't attach where my brain initially expects them to and that throws me.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 31 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

teeth would tell you it’s prey

[–] nocturne@slrpnk.net 55 points 2 weeks ago

Look at the bones man!

[–] cholesterol@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Teeth will tell you about the animal's own diet - not whether it's being preyed upon. Carnivores and omnivores are preyed on as well.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

aren’t most obligate carnivores not directly eaten often?

[–] cholesterol@lemmy.world 25 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

It depends a bit on your scope. If you think of obligate carnivores as typically very large, possibly apex predators, then they might not be preyed on much in the traditional sense. But carnivores also number insects, arachnids, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and lots of smaller mammals like weasels, bats or cats that are themselves prey to other animals.

The point is that being 'predator' does not exclude an animal from also being prey. 'Predator' and 'prey' describe relationships, not mutually exclusive categories.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

i get the point you are making, and i concede it

but i was specifically thinking mammal given the context and for which teeth would make it obvious

even the smaller ones, cats in natural habitats come to mind are apex, and i remember learning the avoidance of eating them had to do with parasite avoidance when other food was available

I did not realize weasels were obligate carnivores and bats were a great example as well

[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Parasite avoidance is a factor, but mostly in the inhibition of cannibalism.

Cats are far from apex predators. They are prey to birds of prey, canids and even bigger mustellids like badgers and wolverines. But birds, like the eurasian eagle-owl and canids like coyotes are their main concern.

And we can clearly see the prey behavior deeply ingrained in our very cautious, flighty friends.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 2 points 2 weeks ago

cool, thank you for the replies

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago

And that's not even getting into the whole fish side of the thing!

[–] stopforgettingit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

*eye placement not teeth.

Prey animals have eyes on the sides of their head for better peripheral vision. Predators have eyes on the front for hunting.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 1 points 2 weeks ago

same idea, oblique carnivores have special teeth

either way the counter argument to my thought was weasels and would work for eye location as well

[–] call_me_xale@lemmy.zip 24 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Is that skeleton actually from a rabbit, or is it a hare? There's not a huge difference, but hares definitely look way more like the drawing (minus the ears) than rabbits do.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 weeks ago

Is that skeleton actually from a rabbit, or is it a hare

This would seem to indicate that it is

[–] xorollo@leminal.space 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So my take away is that some dinosaurs probably had floppy ears.

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

New headcannon for sure! 😄

[–] starlinguk@lemmy.world 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

*What the animal's skeleton looks like.

[–] trashman@feddit.org 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

So what you're saying is, T-Rex might have had bunny ears. :)

[–] muhyb@programming.dev 6 points 2 weeks ago

T-Rex looked more like a bird than a mammal though. :)

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago

Sure. But to be fair, you take the fur off a bunny and it looks pretty similar to the scientist's aproximation.

[–] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago

Get the holy hand grenade!

[–] charokol@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe that’s how artists without a scientific background would recreate the animal but that’s not how scientists would recreate the animal.

[–] Ratio_Tile@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I mean, the skeleton looks as scared of the world as the bunny does, and the underfeathered reconstruction also has a vibe of mortal terror

[–] Slab_Bulkhead@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

i mean have you seen irl hairless versions of harry animals some really are nightmare fuel.

[–] danielfm123@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

Have you shaved a rabbit?

[–] XYTEKK@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago
[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml -3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] charokol@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)
[–] naevaTheRat@lemmy.dbzer0.com -3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Lemmy fucking loves misogyny.

[–] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Don't forget racism, xenophobia, political extremism and misandry!

We have it all really. All inclusive if you think about it.

We hate everyone equally.