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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:41:37 AM EDT
So watching Jurassic World got me into another dinosaur kick, the first one since I read Crighton's Jurassic Park back in the 90s. One thing I'm finding out is that a shit load of new theories have emerged or been debunked (as much as they can anyway) in the 25 years since the book was first written. I've been reading some magazine articles I found online and have learned a few cool new theories:
- Velociraptor: Looks like it was covered in feathers. And it might have been able to fly a little, like a turkey. One of the more interesting theory I read is that the "slashing claw" on its toe, the one Grant is going on and on about in the first Jurassic Park movie, actually isn't well designed for slashing, as it doesn't have a sharp inside edge and that something about the design of the ligaments means not enough force could go into a slash. But what engineering experiments have demonstrated is that the talon was perfect for assisting with scaling trees, and for hooking into prey to latch on. So one new theory is that raptors would ambush prey by climbing trees and then jumping down on them, gliding with their wings, latching onto the animals back with their talons, keeping themselves upright by flapping their arms/wings, and biting the shit out of the prey's neck and spine. Pretty cool and whole shit load different from the raptors in Jurassic Park. More this: 
- T-Rex - Turns out there are a shitload of t-rex subspeicies, like over 12, with them differing in size and small skeletal features. Lots of them are being found in China. Nearly all t-rex fossils for youth show quill holes, meaning the young were most likely feathered. But some adult t-rex subspecies also had them. Then there is the theory which nearly caused all out war in the paleontologist community, that T-rex might have primarily been a scavenger, due to the massive size of the olfactory of its skull. With its size, stealth/ambush hunting would have been hard, but the size would allow it to chase off other predators and to steal its kills, something popular among lions and hyenas in Africa. Anyone got any other cool dinosaur theories? |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:50:19 AM EDT
[#1]
The raptor hypothesis seems pretty solid from looking at one. That claw is is similar to that of modern canines who also use their dewclaw to help bring down prey...or my leg.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:51:32 AM EDT
[#2]
Any T-Rex is suave. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:53:50 AM EDT
[#3]
Funny how science changes. Proof we don't know anywhere near as much as we think we know at any given time. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:57:24 AM EDT
[#4]
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:58:24 AM EDT
[#5]
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Posted: 6/27/2015 12:58:49 AM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia. Nice contribution to this thread... 
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:03:32 AM EDT
[#7]
Here's the article about the Raptor claws and flying: Velociraptor Claws Made for Climbing
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:08:04 AM EDT
[#8]
All that information made the raptors scarier.
Edit: 
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:22:47 AM EDT
[#9]
Interesting deep fried and served up with a side of mashed 'tators and 'slaw.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:31:33 AM EDT
[#10]
There is an interesting Ted Talk I saw that says that what we think are discoveries of different varieties of T-Rex are really different age groups of T-Rex.
This also seems to be the case of a lot of the triceritopsids, and a lot of the other dinos as well, significant structural changes happening in late adolescence ala birds vs the standard reptile system of staying the same and getting bigger and bigger, causing across-the-board misidentification of young and adolescent forms as separate species |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:32:46 AM EDT
[#11]
Anyone know the average lifespan of a raptor, T-Rex or others?
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:37:27 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Funny how science changes. Proof we don't know anywhere near as much as we think we know at any given time. It's not funny, it's how things are supposed to work in science. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:47:19 AM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There is an interesting Ted Talk I saw that says that what we think are discoveries of different varieties of T-Rex are really different age groups of T-Rex. This also seems to be the case of a lot of the triceritopsids, and a lot of the other dinos as well, significant structural changes happening in late adolescence ala birds vs the standard reptile system of staying the same and getting bigger and bigger, causing across-the-board misidentification of young and adolescent forms as separate species https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_shape_shifting_dinosaurs The problem with that theory is they've found fossils of T-rex adults with feather quill holes, while other adult species in different areas didn't have them. Meaning some species of T-rex retained their feathers. Additionally, the skull shapes of some of the T-rexs were very different from one another, enough to classify as another sub-species. Considering the length of time the t-rex lived for and how abundant they were, its not surprising they varied in size, shape, and other features. Think of dogs. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 3:24:35 AM EDT
[#14]
clearly, there were many different species of T-rex over time, some even existing at the same time. But in a lot of cases we don't have the 12 or 15 or 18 species, we have 4 or 6 or maybe 8, and we have examples at a few different ages of each of those.
As far as them being different because they have different skull shape, the whole point is that we can observe in our current dinosaurs (the avian dinosaurs) that skull shape can change very dramatically over age, so skull shape cannot be used to differentiate between species, at least now with additional work to determine where on the maturity progression the dino was at death. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 3:28:24 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia. But can you prove they were not put there by the devil? 
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Posted: 6/27/2015 3:54:16 AM EDT
[#16]
All I know is the feathers make them look retarded.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 4:25:18 AM EDT
[#17]
Can't we just make Jurassic world a reality already?
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Posted: 6/27/2015 4:50:51 AM EDT
[#18]
How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 5:03:52 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found. The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:46:40 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found. The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Like a grizzly bear. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:49:34 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Funny how science changes. Proof we don't know anywhere near as much as we think we know at any given time. Sorry that you failed 3rd grade. Contrary to what uninformed people might think, when you read about dinosaur behavior in an article, this information is coming second hand from hypotheses that the paleontologists are making, stating quietly clearly that this is one POSSIBLE explanation of the known facts. NO ONE is saying that "THIS IS DEFINITELY WITHOUT A DOUBT WHAT DINOSAURS DID AND LOOKED LIKE". As more information comes to light, the some hypotheses make less sense, so they lose favor compared to others or newer ones that better fit the facts. That's how science works. Its nothing more than looking for explanations that help explain the known facts and making predictions that would be expected if those explanations were true. Only a complete moron believes that science is about stating that these explanations are definitely true and then every few years keeps saying "whoops, now a new explanation is definitely true". |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:51:09 AM EDT
[#22]
Any T-Rex is suave. If Devil Dino says so, than it is so!! 
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:52:21 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Funny how science changes. Proof we don't know anywhere near as much as we think we know at any given time. Didn't pay attention in science classes, I take it?
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:56:19 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
All that information made the raptors scarier. Edit: http://new1.fjcdn.com/comments/Dromaeosaurs+are+boss+_b186e3b34e7fc4d9aa5d42286f6c771f.png https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HNLS3XMpnFo/VIZZiTRgVRI/AAAAAAAAAa4/VhNVAaXX05E/w800-h987/Giant_Dromaeosaurs.png I would be interested in seeing the years that each species was discovered. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:58:52 AM EDT
[#25]
In just to see who gets butthurt over a discussion regarding whether or not dinosaurs actually had proto-feathers.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:59:22 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found. The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 8:02:37 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted: In just to see who gets butthurt over a discussion regarding whether or not dinosaurs actually had proto-feathers. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 8:31:05 AM EDT
[#28]
 |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:19:00 PM EDT
[#29]
T-Rex short stubby arms made for doing the.... Bow-Chika-Wow-Wow.
It appears that the arms could only swivel a mere 40 degrees at the shoulder and 45 degrees at the elbow. (For reference, humans have 360-degree capabilities at the shoulder and 165 at the elbow.) Such a restriction indicates that the arms were likely only used to grasp objects and hold them in place.
One of these objects, researchers surmise, was likely a struggling, squirming prey. T. rex would dig its hook-like claws into the animal, preventing it from escaping. Then, T. rex would angle its killer head, equipped with a vicious, incisor-lined jaw, for the perfect chomp. The male T. rex may have also made use of its arms to grasp the female, allowing him to assume a mating position. Link |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:25:32 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia. way to out yourself |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:45:54 PM EDT
[#31]
this sure went to shit
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Posted: 6/27/2015 1:52:09 PM EDT
[#32]
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Posted: 6/27/2015 2:00:41 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found. The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Actually that is not the current theory. That theory except for a few die hards has fallen out of favor. The current theory is that T-rex is both a hunter and scavenger like most predators today. When you look at a T-rex's physical features it is more built toward being a predator than a scavenger. In addition, they have found dinosaur bones which have scars and teeth wounds from T-rex and survived the attack. The wounds healed. It is because of recent finds of dinosaurs having survived attacks which has shifted the theory. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 6:50:07 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found. The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Nope, as others said, that's not very current, and he most likely did both hunting and scavenging. The pack hunter idea is fairly new, since the supporting footprints were found in 2011. As if T Rex wasn't bad-ass enough; imagine a pack of them. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:16:51 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Nope, as others said, that's not very current, and he most likely did both hunting and scavenging. The pack hunter idea is fairly new, since the supporting footprints were found in 2011. As if T Rex wasn't bad-ass enough; imagine a pack of them. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
How about the theory that T-rex was a pack hunter? That comes primarily from footprints that were found. The current idea is that T-Rex was a scavenger, like a lion. Someone else makes a kill, and T-Rex shows up and takes it from you because fuck you, he's T-Rex. Nope, as others said, that's not very current, and he most likely did both hunting and scavenging. The pack hunter idea is fairly new, since the supporting footprints were found in 2011. As if T Rex wasn't bad-ass enough; imagine a pack of them. Even Horner, who was the one that pushed the scavenger role, has conceded that it probably hunted too. I do wonder about it hunted. It weighed as much as an elephant, was 15 feet tall, how exactly did it hunt by stealth? It wasn't a pack hunter so tactics are out. It was only medium fast, maybe a full 1 mph faster than a maiasaur, and was actually slower than a triceratops. So running down pretty is out. I think that's why I still lean more on scavenging than hunting, as it's size and olfactory senses would allow it to find and steal a kill from another smaller predator dino. If the circumstances were right it could hunt its own prey but a more assured meal would probably come from just following the large herbivore sauropod packs and picking off the weak or young, or eating carrion. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:28:24 PM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia. This just sounds idiotic. The truth is, we don't know how long it takes fossils to form. (Whether we think we do or not) Look into some unexplained fossils sometime. Human footprints wearing sandles, hand tools in prehistoric rock, a battery. These things do not fit the story so they are just pushed aside. Most of science is just a guess. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:34:28 PM EDT
[#37]
Quoted: - T-Rex - Turns out there are a shitload of t-rex subspeicies, like over 12, with them differing in size and small skeletal features. Lots of them are being found in China. Nearly all t-rex fossils for youth show quill holes, meaning the young were most likely feathered. But some adult t-rex subspecies also had them. Then there is the theory which nearly caused all out war in the paleontologist community, that T-rex might have primarily been a scavenger, due to the massive size of the olfactory of its skull. With its size, stealth/ambush hunting would have been hard, but the size would allow it to chase off other predators and to steal its kills, something popular among lions and hyenas in Africa. Anyone got any other cool dinosaur theories? Why would nature make T-Rex into a massive animal if he was just a scavanger? All the scavengers you see in the current natural world are small guys and are made to run quickly from an enemy. T-Rex's build is that of a animal meant to fight other big dinosaurs. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:43:29 PM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia. 
How's the Hillary campaign going? |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:44:49 PM EDT
[#39]
Saurians left the earth and threw a big asteroid at the planet as they were leaving to get rid of the lesser species.
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Posted: 6/27/2015 7:53:40 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuote HistoryQuoted:
T-Rex short stubby arms made for doing the.... Bow-Chika-Wow-Wow. It appears that the arms could only swivel a mere 40 degrees at the shoulder and 45 degrees at the elbow. (For reference, humans have 360-degree capabilities at the shoulder and 165 at the elbow.) Such a restriction indicates that the arms were likely only used to grasp objects and hold them in place.
One of these objects, researchers surmise, was likely a struggling, squirming prey. T. rex would dig its hook-like claws into the animal, preventing it from escaping. Then, T. rex would angle its killer head, equipped with a vicious, incisor-lined jaw, for the perfect chomp. The male T. rex may have also made use of its arms to grasp the female, allowing him to assume a mating position. Link Then how did they pilot the fighter jets? |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 8:02:17 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Why would nature make T-Rex into a massive animal if he was just a scavanger? All the scavengers you see in the current natural world are small guys and are made to run quickly from an enemy. T-Rex's build is that of a animal meant to fight other big dinosaurs. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
- T-Rex - Turns out there are a shitload of t-rex subspeicies, like over 12, with them differing in size and small skeletal features. Lots of them are being found in China. Nearly all t-rex fossils for youth show quill holes, meaning the young were most likely feathered. But some adult t-rex subspecies also had them. Then there is the theory which nearly caused all out war in the paleontologist community, that T-rex might have primarily been a scavenger, due to the massive size of the olfactory of its skull. With its size, stealth/ambush hunting would have been hard, but the size would allow it to chase off other predators and to steal its kills, something popular among lions and hyenas in Africa. Anyone got any other cool dinosaur theories? Why would nature make T-Rex into a massive animal if he was just a scavanger? All the scavengers you see in the current natural world are small guys and are made to run quickly from an enemy. T-Rex's build is that of a animal meant to fight other big dinosaurs. Nature didn't do it. Simply bigger T-Rex survived and kept reproducing, which over time made the species larger and larger. I think the actual question should be what elements in nature allowed such large T-Rex to survive long enough to reproduce. I think that would be the abundance of large four legged herbivore dinosaurs. These types traveled in large herds and suffered the same poor infant mortality and adult illnesses and injuries that modern wild animals did. The only comparison in the the modern world are African and Asian elephant herds, but imagine a single place in Africa or India that had dozens of different species of elephant sized herbivores, some even bigger, all in one area. It would be a buffet for a scavenger, especially one big enough to chase off any other dinosaur in a square up fight to steal the kills. That's where the size and massive jaws of the T-Rex come into play. It would be a shitty ambush hunter, too slow to chase anything down, to big to hide and move stealthily, but its ability to actually fight was probably second to none, no other dinosaur could hold ground and win against an adult T-Rex. No doubt it still hunted when it could, but considering how many large herbivore dinosaurs existed in any given area back then, I think the T-Rex would have done rather well primarily as a opportunist predator, but with an emphasis on being a scavenger. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:36:42 PM EDT
[#42]
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:41:43 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
All that information made the raptors scarier. Edit: http://new1.fjcdn.com/comments/Dromaeosaurs+are+boss+_b186e3b34e7fc4d9aa5d42286f6c771f.png https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HNLS3XMpnFo/VIZZiTRgVRI/AAAAAAAAAa4/VhNVAaXX05E/w800-h987/Giant_Dromaeosaurs.png I still wouldn't want to fuck with one. Ever dealt with a pissed off turkey? Now Imagine it with a giant talon and sharp teeth...nope, fuck that |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:45:54 PM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Someone will be along soon to explain how the earth is only 6000 years old and fossils were placed by the devil to lead man astray. Perhaps it will be Justice Scalia. Lol. Click. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:46:51 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Anyone know the average lifespan of a raptor, T-Rex or others? 87 years. But that's in dinosaur years. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:48:25 PM EDT
[#46]
Sadly, the coolest dinosaurs were most likely giant chickens.
Which means KFC serves fucking dinosaurs. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:53:55 PM EDT
[#47]
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:57:06 PM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
<a href="http://s239.photobucket.com/user/mailbcw/media/philosoraptor-morgan-freeman.png.html" target="_blank">http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff98/mailbcw/philosoraptor-morgan-freeman.png</a> He would narrate his own damn movie. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:59:17 PM EDT
[#49]
T-Rex wasn't the most fearsome of the carnivores, actually there were quite a few that were more deadly. T-Tex's were not overly fast, especially over a distance so they relied on sheer power. If a T-Rex was knocked off it's legs, it was pretty much easy pickings as the short arms wouldn't have allowed for it to push itself off the ground easily. T-Rex probably didn't need to hunt much as it could easy take over a kill from smaller carnivors very easily.
Spinosaures was a very odd dinosaur, very few fossil records remain but it was a monster. Primarily it feed in a swamp area, it had a very powerful jaw and clawed arms. The Sail on its back likely had a defensive purpose as well as act as a fin/radiator to cool itself. Utah-raptors were really the alpha predators, highly intelligent, pack-like dinosaurs that were the size of adolescent T-Rex's. Smart, fast, powerful and communicated with others to hunt. Think up-armored/up-gunned Lions. Adult Triceratops actually hunted adolescent T-Rex's and other predators. Not for food but as a means of survival; scientist believe that Triceratops would go out of their way to kill predators and not necessitate avoid them. They were essentially a main battle tank with long, sharp horns. Human ancestors would have become extinct if they had lived during those times very quickly. As dangerous as Dire Wolves, Sabertooths and Long-Face bear were to early humans, they were nothing like Jurrasic times. |
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Posted: 6/27/2015 10:59:45 PM EDT
[#50]
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