Dinosaur Chat

[Asrossk]

I'll be honest here, I'm not a Dinosaur expert in the slightest; this means my favourites will have to be based on my limited knowledge of them. To help me though, I enlisted one of my favourite childhood books that has an extensive Dinosaur bio selection that gives their appearance, size, and time they were around for. It's actually very nostalgic to read through this again. :3

I began turning the pages at a fast rate. I was going to deduct points from any Dinosaur that did not have a flame-thrower and/or a jet-pack. After realising no Dinosaur had either of those, I cried a little on the inside. This was going to be hard to choose.

Carnivore - Allosaurus, it's giant and looks tough. I think if you gave it a top hat and a monocle though it could become a very upstanding citizen in the community! I also love the name of it. This Dinosaur would not be great in espionage though, as it isn't exactly camouflaged for the job or very small. It's only hope of hiding would be pretending to be an exquisite paper maché display.

Herbivore - Pachycephalosaurus, because it doesn't look like it'll take anything from anyone. if I was a raptor I'd run away from that thing when it tried to headbutt me.

Flying - Dimorphodon, because it reminds me of a parrot. I would so have one as a pet.

Water-dwelling - Plesiosaurus, because it's gigantic and streamlined looking. Sort of like an alive submarine.

 

[Spinosaurus]

What's this? A dinosaur chat? Well, I say! This is my kind of chat!
My favorite dinosaur is really obvious, so no need telling. I also like Torvosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Utahraptor, Styracosaurus and THE COMPLETELY OVERRATED Tyrannosaurus Rex. <3
Any opinions on the 60 feet long prehistoric shark, the Megalodon?

I think it's really interesting and I honestly want to know more about it. Though we don't really have much informations on it. :\

 

[Myles]

Speaking of one of the pictures that makes them look silly >.>

I'm sorry, that doesn't exactly say "Vicious Carnivore" to me.... it looks more like a mockery of one.

IDK, I guess I just like the idea of a monstrous man-eating bird.

So far as I know, no actual feather fossils have been found.
I do agree with the position that they were feathered in some manner, though..

They have:

"Finding quill knobs on velociraptor, though, means that it definitely had feathers. This is something we'd long suspected, but no one had been able to prove." ~Science Daily

 

[Charizard★]

I can't really think of any living pack hunter that's known for their stealth. Birds are pretty much most closest evolutionary descendant of velociraptors, so I'd use an example of one of them but I can't think of any birds that hunt in err... flocks. So an example would be, hyenas. And I don't think velociraptors have even been proven to be pack hunters.

Let me start off by saying there are many pack hunters today known for their stealth. Examples would be wolves, lions, African wild dogs and many more. Basically all of the known pack hunters or predators in general have to have stealth otherwise how are they going to catch any prey animals? But, you're right saying that there's no known birds that hunt in flocks. Not that I know of.

Birds are close, but reptiles are close as well. Seeing as scientists are saying that the closest living thing to a T-Rex is a chicken. So far the closest bird species that is the closest to the dinosaurs would have to be the Hoatzin ( since the chicks still do retain claws that their ancestors had.) and raptors.

And Velociraptors not proven pack hunters? That's the funniest thing I've heard. They've been found in 'dinosaur graveyards' in groups. Most of the specimens they've found were in at least pairs, and they would have been too small to be any real threat to Protoceratops or any other prey they've been known to eat. Most dromaeosaurids have been known to travel in groups, heck even T-Rex is beginning to be said to stay in small family groups. (Kinda off topic, but oh well.)

Sorry if it sounds a bit rude.

 

[Myles]

I didn't mean to imply that birds never hunt in flocks, I said I couldn't think of any. Either way, there are pack hunters that don't use stealth.

As for the packs, you're thinking of dromaeosaurids in general, not Velociraptors.

 

[Charizard★]

I didn't mean to imply that birds never hunt in flocks, I said I couldn't think of any. Either way, there are pack hunters that don't use stealth.

As for the packs, you're thinking of dromaeosaurids in general, not Velociraptors.

Velociraptors did hunt in packs. That's what I stated earlier. And I've talked to a couple of paleontologists while volunteering at a museum.

And Velociraptors not proven pack hunters? That's the funniest thing I've heard. They've been found in 'dinosaur graveyards' in groups. Most of the specimens they've found were in at least pairs, and they would have been too small to be any real threat to Protoceratops or any other prey they've been known to eat. Most dromaeosaurids have been known to travel in groups, heck even T-Rex is beginning to be said to stay in small family groups. (Kinda off topic, but oh well.)

 

[Warrior Rapter]

Going to catch up on this thread.

So far as I know, no actual feather fossils have been found.
I do agree with the position that they were feathered in some manner, though.

I'm not sure if it's what you would consider a fossil of a feather, but, in response to this, I feel the need to point to an Archeopteryx fossil that has been found. Note: the Pokemon Archen and Archeops were probably inspired by this dinosaur.

A couple groups of raptors who died in the same place. That often occurs during floods, right? Maybe they happened into groups and hunted at times, but I don't think they were strictly pack carnivores

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe there's been fossils of two Velociraptors fighting each other before. This to me indicates that they were hostile toward each other, but then also point out the fossils of groups of Velociraptors attacking prey. The reason I say this is that if Velociraptors were violent against each other, the odds that they would team up against a prey would be slim, as, a natural instinct we can still see in some animals today, they would likely turn on each other for survival, means the others would be a bigger threat than their prey in this situation.

Now, combine that hostility, with the fact that they would team up indicates a sense of dominance with them, something similar that we would see with the alphas of a wolf pack. Do we know for sure that they were pack hunters? No, not really. But there is evidence that suggest they were likely to have been.

"Finding quill knobs on velociraptor, though, means that it definitely had feathers. This is something we'd long suspected, but no one had been able to prove." ~Science Daily

One thing a friend of mine got to talking about on this subject that I think raises a valid point: Given everything else we know about the Velociraptors, it could have been possible that the developed lighter bones to help them be more agile. Why would they be confused as quill knobs? There could be a couple of explanations: perhaps deposits of lighter material in their bones, or on their bones in this case, evaporated, decomposed, or just mildly collapsed. Perhaps they were making use of what we would consider a more modern design of aerodynamics in their bones for agility: a golf-ball dibbit pattern. I can refer to a Mythbuster's episode for my evidence on how that pattern could benefit aerodynamically. Just my thoughts on it anyway.

 

[Myles]

Velociraptors did hunt in packs. That's what I stated earlier. And I've talked to a couple of paleontologists while volunteering at a museum.

It is widely believed they hunted in packs and they may well have; what I said was a simple note that they hadn't actually been proven to. Their close cousin, Deinonychus, has been found in packs, but not them. See this article for more details.

 

[Charizard★]

It is widely believed they hunted in packs and they may well have; what I said was a simple note that they hadn't actually been proven to. Their close cousin, Deinonychus, has been found in packs, but not them. See this article for more details.

Never seen that article. Well, that's a point I've got to consider now, but if the larger cousin of the velociraptor hunts in pack, wouldn't the smaller version also hunt in packs? Seeing as Deinonychus needs to be in packs to be a successful hunter, wouldn't Velociraptor need to do the same>

 

[Warrior Rapter]

Going to quote my previous post for this.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe there's been fossils of two Velociraptors fighting each other before. This to me indicates that they were hostile toward each other, but then also point out the fossils of groups of Velociraptors attacking prey. The reason I say this is that if Velociraptors were violent against each other, the odds that they would team up against a prey would be slim, as, a natural instinct we can still see in some animals today, they would likely turn on each other for survival, means the others would be a bigger threat than their prey in this situation.

Now, combine that hostility, with the fact that they would team up indicates a sense of dominance with them, something similar that we would see with the alphas of a wolf pack. Do we know for sure that they were pack hunters? No, not really. But there is evidence that suggest they were likely to have been.

 

[Legobricks]

I'm not sure if it's what you would consider a fossil of a feather, but, in response to this, I feel the need to point to an Archeopteryx fossil that has been found. Note: the Pokemon Archen and Archeops were probably inspired by this dinosaur.

Sorry, I meant fossils of feathers on actual theropods (eg. velociraptor feathers), not something known to be a flying bird from the start.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I believe there's been fossils of two Velociraptors fighting each other before. This to me indicates that they were hostile toward each other, but then also point out the fossils of groups of Velociraptors attacking prey. The reason I say this is that if Velociraptors were violent against each other, the odds that they would team up against a prey would be slim, as, a natural instinct we can still see in some animals today, they would likely turn on each other for survival, means the others would be a bigger threat than their prey in this situation.

Now, combine that hostility, with the fact that they would team up indicates a sense of dominance with them, something similar that we would see with the alphas of a wolf pack. Do we know for sure that they were pack hunters? No, not really. But there is evidence that suggest they were likely to have been.

I see. That's a good point actually... It may be likely, it's just the main reason I somewhat-purport that they weren't is to put away the (IMHO rash) assumption that they 'definitely' were.

even T-Rex is beginning to be said to stay in small family groups.

Oh, I've heard of that, don't know what to think though. Anyone know what brought about the notion?

 

[Charizard★]

Oh, I've heard of that, don't know what to think though. Anyone know what brought about the notion?

They found a group of T-Rex fossils consisting of two adults and three juveniles (Or was it one adult and three juveniles?) so that's why they think they stayed in small family groups.

 

[Warrior Rapter]

They found a group of T-Rex fossils consisting of two adults and three juveniles (Or was it one adult and three juveniles?) so that's why they think they stayed in small family groups.

Have they thought about maybe parental instincts? I might have to look into this myself but, if it's adults with juveniles, I think the basic parental instincts could still be a possibility. Even for a big predator like the T-Rex, I think it could make sense that they would've raised their young, kind of like how some predators would raise their young today.

 

[Charizard★]

Well, that's plausible, but after researching more, recently they found 68 Tarbosaurus fossils within close rang of each other. (Couple of meters) I'm pretty sure they hunted in packs now. And for those who think it might be coincidence, they also found other Tyranosaur species in groups. Such as Albertasaurus. 23 of them within a couple of meters of themselves. Anybody care to go against the theory of them not living in groups now?

Just in case anyone says this:

Even tho they died there all at the same place it might not mean that they were in packs.

That's true. It could have been a feeding frenzy and they could have all died there then. Or it could have been a flash flood and they all could have died together. But, what's the probability of 68 or even 23 Tyranosuars coming together for a feeding frenzy? I don't think there would be enough food to support them all like that. Well, that brings up the flash flood theory, what are your chances of getting all the Tyranosaurs within a very large distance to come together in a flash flood like that? There would have to be other dinosuar remains, but there wasn't. So, the only plausible idea is that they lived in groups.

Anyone want to challenge?

 

[Warrior Rapter]

Honestly, the more I think about it, I think its possible that most dinosaurs lived in packs. I mean let's face it, back when they were still alive, it wasn't exactly easy to, well, stay alive. A lone dino at the time was probably a dead one unless they were really defensive, big, or voracious, all of which we have seen on creatures that even still lived together, such as many of the Sauropodamorphs (in case your not fluent with the scientific, generally the long-necks that lived on land).

While thing have quieted down a bit for now, I have a question for everyone. I've been thinking about starting an Other Club for talking dino, and I'd like to know if you guys think it's a good idea.

 

[Kotowari]

Ah, dinosaurs. <3 I used to obsessed with them back when I was a kid. Now it's less, but I'm still fascinated by them and their fantasy offspring, the Dragons.

My favourite dinosaur would probably be the Stegosaurus, as well as the Triceratops.
I'm also quite interested in the Iguanodon, because well, there were quite some found in the country where I live. And our Museum of natural sciences is quite proud of its Iguanodon of Bernissart fossils. Though, in the beginning they thought that Iguanodons walked on two legs, so while the skeletons were assembled to show in the museum, they were positioned as bipedal creatures. Paleontologists now believe that they prefered to walk on all 4 limbs, but they can't fix the skeletons anymore.

Spoiler:

I have yet to see them, (sad sad sad) but I really do want to go. As a geologist in spe, I just have to go right? Takling about my geology course, I was/am kind of disappointed that the paleontology course I get (both I and II) says so little about dinosaurs.
They make the difference between Pterosaurs and Dinosaurs [Ornithischians, Saurischians and some]. And that's about it.

What amuses me though, is that the birds evolved from the lizard-hipped Dinosaurs, and not the bird-hipped ones.
What also amuses me, is that despite it's status as one of the most popular/well-known dinosaurs, the T-Rex is so rare.

About the herd thing, I don't feel like thinking much, so I'm going to quote my paleontology book:

"Dinosaurs are found world wide, including from high latitudes, where it would have been dark in winter for several months. Even in the warm global conditions of the Mesozoic, this would have necessitated a warm-blooded habit. In addition, dinosaurs were active predators and herd-dwellers, and the predator:prey ratios of dinosaurs are consistent with endothermy. Evidence of long-term protection of the eggs and young, and complicated adaptations for display and communication, suggest that dinosaurs also evolved complicated social patterns in a wide variety of different environment."

 

[Minishcap]

On another note, some scientists have suggested that several genus within the Triceratopsini tribe represent same genus but varying developing stages.
Triceratops horridus (type example for the Triceratops genus) would represents a juveline stage. The debatable Nedoceratops hatcheri would represent a young adult stage and Torosaurus latus as a full grown adult stage.

The suggestion is quite interesting, however it is not without challenge/criticism, though it does show a important aspect; that we have been very generous with classification of dinosaurs into several genus...the more the merrier I suppose...

 

[Kotowari]

I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be that way. The fossil reccord is far from complete. Every (piece of) fossil tells a story, but not every story can be linked the big picture.

 

[dinosaurodon]

Dinosaurs. Man, loved them so much. wanted to be a paleontologist like Alan Grant from Jurassic Park. That didn't go as planned. However I still like dinosaurs, my favorite would have to be Gaganotosaurus, one of the largest, if not largest carnivorous dinosaurs. It hunted in packs too, even if it was enormous.