Super Predators?

[Anonymous]

What are the super predators? I know there was T-Rex, Spinosaurus, and Suchomimus. But what others are there?

[Dinosaur_Neill]

It's not an actual scientific term, so you could put just about any large carnivore in there I guess...

[Raptor86]

Super predators are the ones on the top of the food chain.<br />For example, the white Shark is the &quot;super predator&quot; of the cold seas.

[Mallon]

(There is no top to the food chain.)

[KyleRipman]

Well, in that animal's particular habitat is what I think he meant.

[Raptor86]

[quote author=KyleRipman link=board=19;threadid=384;start=0#6596 date=1039138547]<br />Well, in that animal's particular habitat is what I think he meant.<br /><hr></blockquote><br /><br />

[Mallon]

[quote author=KyleRipman link=board=19;threadid=384;start=0#6596 date=1039138547]<br />Well, in that animal's particular habitat is what I think he meant.<br /><hr></blockquote><br /><br />That matters not. The food chain is just a convenient way of thinking about things, but means nothing in real life. In real ecosystems, there is no linear progression into the belly of a, say, _Spinosaurus_. What do exist are food webs, where every organism at different trophic levels are interconnected. As such, even a great animal such as _Spinosaurus_ would not be invulnerable to being preyed upon by the likes of smaller, blood-sucking insects, parasites, or detritivores. That being said, there is no top of the food chain.

[KyleRipman]

Being preyed upon, perhaps, but not being killed.

[Mallon]

[quote author=KyleRipman link=board=19;threadid=384;start=0#7681 date=1039658413]<br />Being preyed upon, perhaps, but not being killed.<br /><hr></blockquote><br /><br />Big whoop. Even the best predators only take down roughly 10% of their quarry.<br />And besides that, many parasites are often known to kill their hosts. It might take some time to do it, but that doesn't matter.

[KyleRipman]

How high their success rate actually is doesn't seem to affect what we're discussing here, though.<br />While that's true about parasites, we also don't know what kind/how deadly they were at that time.