The Dinosaur Thread

[SuperFerret]

Roughly sixty-five million years ago, a group of the most impressive and unique animals that ever walked the face of this planet died out, and now, I find that there's no thread solely discussing them. That's a shame, they've suffered the indignity of extinction, but this just adds insult to injury. So I've taken it upon myself to start a thread dedicated to the creatures that straddle the line between animal and monster, that are at times equal parts fantasy and science, that continue to capture the imaginations of people worldwide.

I'm talking about DINOSAURS.



I figured this could generate a good amount of discussion given that my search for a similar thread generated a few threads discussing individual discoveries, the possibilities of a Jurassic Park 4 and a few one dinosaur related video games.

This can be a thread in which to share and discuss newer discoveries, theories and ideas about dinosaurs, or to post your own ideas and/or arguments regarding these theories. Or you could just post "T.Rex is awesome!! " I'd be fine with that too, as he is.

Please, my only request is that discussion here remain civil and (somewhat) lighthearted. I realize that many ideas regarding these extinct animals are controversial, but let's try and be respectful of the ideas of others.

 

[katie_girl09]

I've always thought the idea of dinosaurs was a cool one. I don't know much about them anymore, unfortunately.

 

[Majic Walrus]

The Battousai is going to fall in love with you and this thread.

 

[Timstuff]

Dinosaurs are awesome. Especially the ones that eat people. And lasers.

 

[SuperFerret]

Good. I was hoping for positive attention here.


Ah, yes, DinoRiders. I had a crapload of those as a kid. Definitely Dinosaurs too.

 

[SuperFerret]

So, what does everyone think about the various ideas on the eating habits of Tyrannosaurus rex? Was it a hunter, a scavenger, a bit of both?

 

[Majic Walrus]

My vote is for scavenger. I have no scientific knowledge on the topic, however I find it hard to believe that someone with such laughably small arms would be very good at hunting.

 

[Wolfwood]

Too be honest, everything I learned about Dinos, I learned from Jurassic Park. So I don't know much and I'm sure most of what I know is incorrect, but I still love the idea of them.

 

[-Arya-]

I would say a bit of both but the edge going towards scavenger. It's arms were too small for confrontations however its jaw power alone could have easily killed any foe.

 

[enterthemadness]

I believe in Dinosaurs unlike some people in the world. The bones are there after all. That being said, I would piss myself silly if I saw one via Jurassic Park: Lost World walking in the street.

if Dino's ate a zombie....would it turn into a Dino-zombie...or are Dino's too smart to eat Zombies?

 

[SuperFerret]

As far as I've seen the biggest disadvantage that the smaller arms provide is that the dinosaur can't catch itself if it trips, and all that weight is coming down on it's sternum. The scavenger theory has some merit though, T. rex has a huge olfactory cavity suggesting an excellent sense of smell, and its size would serve to scare off smaller animals from any carcasses found.

I personally feel that it was a mix of both, getting its food wherever and however it can. It is assumed to have powerful jaws and its teeth are formed in a way that suggests a slashing or gripping mode of attack, both of which serve a predator better than a scavenger. Same with its assumed visual acuity.

I also like the bacterial bite idea, that a T. rex, like modern komodo dragons, have so much rotting meat in their mouths that their bites deliver bacterial infections, which will eventually kill the prey.

 

[-Arya-]

Velociraptors are only about 2 feet tall correct?

 

[SuperFerret]

Velociraptors? I've read between 2 and 3 feet tall. The "raptors" in Jurassic Park were likely Deinonychus.

 

[-Arya-]

Velociraptors? I've read between 2 and 3 feet tall. The "raptors" in Jurassic Park were likely Deinonychus.

Precisely what I was thinking.

 

[Wolfwood]

Wow really? Damn, see, my fragile knowledge of the Dinosaur world is already being shattered.

 

[SuperFerret]

They might have mixed up height and length. I believe that Velociraptor was 6' long, the movie made it 6' tall.

Jurassic Park is a great movie, one of my all-time favorites, but it's very inaccurate and implausible.

 

[Wolfwood]

Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of great Dinosaur expert working on that film? I remember reading an article when I was a kid about that...

 

[SuperFerret]

I believe it was Horner, I'm not sure though, but even then it seemed like fiction and trying to stay true to the novel won over science. Also, keep in mind, theories have changed since then, making such things (like the Velociraptors/Deinonychus being featherless) seem like an inaccuracy.

Here's a link detailing most of the mistakes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park

 

[Hobgoblin]

I believe in Dinosaurs unlike some people in the world. The bones are there after all. That being said, I would piss myself silly if I saw one via Jurassic Park: Lost World walking in the street.

if Dino's ate a zombie....would it turn into a Dino-zombie...or are Dino's too smart to eat Zombies?

Check out Deadpool:Merc with a Mouth #3. It has a zombie t-rex.

They might have mixed up height and length. I believe that Velociraptor was 6' long, the movie made it 6' tall.

Jurassic Park is a great movie, one of my all-time favorites, but it's very inaccurate and implausible.

Yes, raptors were only three or four feet tall. Spielberg just thought that 6' tall was more impressive. However, shortly after the film was released, a find in Utah uncovered 6' tall raptor-like dinos. They were called, cleverly, Utahraptor. Steve Spielberg isnt just a great film maker, he is a brilliant scientist! He says "I like this better," and nature says "Ok, I'll get on it."

 

[SuperFerret]

Whuh? H..Hobgoblin? Since when?

 

[Manic]

Roughly sixty-five million years ago, a group of the most impressive and unique animals that ever walked the face of this planet died out, and now, I find that there's no thread solely discussing them. That's a shame, they've suffered the indignity of extinction, but this just adds insult to injury. So I've taken it upon myself to start a thread dedicated to the creatures that straddle the line between animal and monster, that are at times equal parts fantasy and science, that continue to capture the imaginations of people worldwide.

I'm talking about DINOSAURS.

Ah. For a second there, I thought this was a Rolling Stones thread.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Whuh? H..Hobgoblin? Since when?

This afternoon.

 

[SuperFerret]

Yes, raptors were only three or four feet tall. Spielberg just thought that 6' tall was more impressive. However, shortly after the film was released, a find in Utah uncovered 6' tall raptor-like dinos. They were called, cleverly, Utahraptor. Steve Spielberg isnt just a great film maker, he is a brilliant scientist! He says "I like this better," and nature says "Ok, I'll get on it."

Spielberg caused a retcon of world history. Wow.

This afternoon.

Oh.

 

[Hobgoblin]

This pic makes me realize just how dull our epoch really is.

 

[SuperFerret]

True, but dinosaurs didn't reach their full plethora of awesomeness until the mid-Jurassic period, roughy 176-161 million years ago, fully 75 million years after the Triassic started the Age of the Dinosaurs. We're now at roughly 65 million years after the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction, so we've got about 10 million more years until we've attained that level of awesomeness.