Why are pterosaurs allied with herbivores in LBT?

trexmaster · **on:** July 31, 2007, 10:20:32 PM

Pterosaurs ("flyers") were for the most part carnivorous, so one would think that they would form their loyalties with the sharpteeth instead of the leaf-eaters. Why would flyers make friends with leaf-eaters instead?

DarkHououmon · **Reply #1 on:** July 31, 2007, 11:48:56 PM

If I recall correctly, pterosaurs were largely fish-eaters and didn't post a threat to the dinosaurs.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #2 on:** August 01, 2007, 03:55:20 AM

Yeah. Mainly fish. I remember reading that somewhere. Maybe Petrie's a threat to Mo?

Malte279 · **Reply #3 on:** August 01, 2007, 08:05:39 AM

Mo would be a fisheater himself. I think most Pterosaurs were omnivores. They ate fish, insects, they scavenged on corpses, and they were able to live on some plants as well. I don't expect they are ever going into details about this question in the land before time movies, but perhaps it is a kind of conscience question for the flyers whether or not to eat meat. Perhaps most of the LBT flyers only ever eat meat if they have to. I could well imagine Rinkus and Sierra to make a living as scavengers in the Mysterious Beyond. Perhaps (and this is even less likely to be the accepted G-canon of the LBT producers) scavenging is tolerated by other leafeaters, after all it is part of a healthy ecosystem. In any case flyers are not likely to be a serious thread to most kinds of dinosaurs. As hunters they could only attack the smallest kinds with some chance of success. Moreover flyers would be rather vulnerable. While a bird could survive some ruffled feathers a Pterosaur who tears his or her wings or breaks a bone (especially any of those supporting the wings) is doomed as there is no real chance for recovery. Therefore I don't suppose flyers are likely to take any unnecessary risk.

pokeplayer984 · **Reply #4 on:** August 01, 2007, 09:54:43 AM

Of course Malte, we have to question that Pterosaur that caught Ducky in LBT 5. If you recall, Ducky nearly got eaten by the Pterosaur's hungry babies.

Malte279 · **Reply #5 on:** August 01, 2007, 01:42:29 PM

That's true and a very good point that has to be included in this discussion. However, Ducky is very young and very small so this flyer does imply flyers to be more dangerous than I granted them to be. I doubt that the same Pterosaur that caught her would have been a serious threat to one of her larger friends. I wonder how much of a threat even Pterano, Rinkus, and Sierra would be to Cera, Littlefoot, or Spike. They are larger of course but I could easily imagine Rinkus or Sierra being run over by Cera, Spike, or Littlefoot none of whom is as vulnerable as those flyers would probably be.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #6 on:** August 01, 2007, 02:24:08 PM

I've heard somewhere, I forget where, that the feet of pterosaurs were not designed for grasping prey.

NewOrder · **Reply #7 on:** August 01, 2007, 03:25:13 PM

That is accurate DarkHououmon, pterosaurs hunted with their beaks. Their claws were mostly to help them land, although some of the larger species did have very strong claws, there are no proof that they hunted with them. Most pterosaurs were scavengers, the smaller species were mostly fishers, but each one had it's own specialized beak according to the type of food it ate. I believe that Petrie's Mom could've been a threat to Ducky, but the others would probably be ok. Either way, you have to see that this is a kid's movie, it's more accurate than some in many aspects, but for the most of it science has no place in the Great Valley