Is anyone else excited that the brontosaurus has been re-added to the sauropod family tree?
Dino Update
An excellent write-up of the history of the name and current resurgence here.
http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2015/04/08/bully-for-brontosaurus/
It's cool, but years of studying physical anthropology has convinced me that taxonomy itself is fundamentally flawed, so I can't really work up too much excitement.
If I can stop giving the whole "No this is Apatosaurus. Brontosaurus never existed", I'll be happy.
I never lost faith! Now let's see if we can get Pluto reclassified as a planet!
I am currently skeptical but I will be glad if it sticks.
It's cool, but years of studying physical anthropology has convinced me that taxonomy itself is fundamentally flawed, so I can't really work up too much excitement.
I agree. Sometimes they go a bit overboard on subclasses. There is a debate going on now because a lot of the subspecies may actually be juvenile and adolescent specimens. A new theory suggests that dinosaur skeletal structure may have varied significantly at early age.
It's cool, but years of studying physical anthropology has convinced me that taxonomy itself is fundamentally flawed, so I can't really work up too much excitement.
Which taxonomy? There's quite a few systems for different groups.
I think taxonomy itself is at odds with the structure of life itself. NDT chicken egg answer lays the problem bare.
Which taxonomy? There's quite a few systems for different groups.
I think taxonomy itself is at odds with the structure of life itself. NDT chicken egg answer lays the problem bare.
Nevertheless. Woohoo, brontosaurus. When I was a kid the name was still being used in books, so it was imprinted on my psyche. I could always intellectually process that the name wasn't valid and should be apotosaurus, but brontosaurus was the name that emotionally meant "DINOSAUR!!"
Edited by Forgottenlore****, piratefly beat me to it! Now I'll just have to write something stupid about how this is just in time for Jurassic park 4...
****, piratefly beat me to it! Now I'll just have to write something stupid about how this is just in time for Jurassic park 4...
Did you notice Chris Pratt is riding his bike with the raptors and not fleeing from them?
On a side note: Have we figured out yet if dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles?
Edited by PirateflyOn a side note: Have we figured out yet if dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles?
Last I heard that was the official story.
@piratefly (sorry quote button doesn't work for some reason)
Yup! And I was like Oh please god no, let's not have the good dinosaurs vs the genespliced evil dinosaur!*
On the other hand: I wish I had an attack pack of friendly raptors!
*yes in JP technically all the dinos are genespliced, but the big bad of this movie (I call it "Antagonisaurus") was custom made by throwing a bunch of diferent dino species DNA together because people got tired of "normal" dinsoaurs. It's nowhere near as rediculous looking as the Ultimasaurus from the JP Chaos Effect toy line. (Wether that is a good thing depends on how over the top you like your made up dinos.)
Edited by Robin GravesDinos related to birds? the two legged carnivores, definatly! (Raptor means bird of prey yadayada)
We had a pheasant in our back yard today*, and just looking at it's legs and how it moves, yeah no doubt about it, there is some dino ancestry in there .
*And yes, I was stalking it trough the bushes like that scene from JP and had to restrain myself from saying "Clever girl..."
So the way DNA works it still possess blue prints of previous evolutions. What matters is in which order it is triggered. Why this matters is that scientists have triggered DNA sequences in chicken embryos and been able to produce chicken embryos with teeth and tails like raptors...
To my knowledge no subject has been brought to term yet.
so in theory they can "devolve" chickens into raptors? (unlikely to be that exact dino species, but you know what I mean)
Sweet!
The last common ancestor of dinosaurs and modern birds is younger than the last common ancestor of modern reptiles and dinosaurs, so they are probably all closer to birds. The reptiles they evolved from we're not like modern reptiles.
Edited by TasteTheRainbowso in theory they can "devolve" chickens into raptors? (unlikely to be that exact dino species, but you know what I mean)
Sweet!
the big bad of this movie (I call it "Antagonisaurus") was custom made by throwing a bunch of diferent dino species DNA together because people got tired of "normal" dinsoaurs.
I just know it's going to be a "Velososaurus Rex", because noooooo. The first time you try to splice 2 dinosaurs together, you can't do 2 herbivores, you absolutely HAVE to mix together the intelligence and predatory instinct of raptors and the size and ferocity of a t-Rex.
Although, all will be forgiven if they hang a lantern on it and somebody actually says "what, are you trying to make a monster movie?"
They were gonna have a ankylosaurus/triceratops hybrid (because: spikes)and while it didn't make it into the movie it will get a toy in the upcomming toyline.
You should also check out "Dinosaur Planet- Broncosaurus rex" a tabletop RPG with a whole bunch of made up dino's ranging from the abusrd to the very possible.
Velosaurus rex? LOL We need to come up with more names for made up combiner dinos. Stuff like: Dinostein or Frankensaurus. If it were up to me I'd call it "Chimeradon".
so in theory they can "devolve" chickens into raptors? (unlikely to be that exact dino species, but you know what I mean)
Sweet!
https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_building_a_dinosaur_from_a_chicken?language=en
It's like a spectrum of light, it's easy to see that this is red and that is blue, but narrowing down the exact point where it changes just doesn't work.
That's easy. When it's purple.
****, piratefly beat me to it! Now I'll just have to write something stupid about how this is just in time for Jurassic park 4...
Did you notice Chris Pratt is riding his bike with the raptors and not fleeing from them?
On a side note: Have we figured out yet if dinosaurs are more closely related to birds than reptiles?
The closest actual clade that comes close to what we know as reptiles are the diapsids, but that usually does not include turtles (the origin of turtles is not entirely clear as I understand) for most authors, while birds are diapsids. So in a way, birds are reptiles.
(See Gaining Ground by Jennifer Clack, p. 269-273 in particular.)
Taxonomy in general. This article touched on the subject a bit when it mentioned that evolution doesn't have hard and fast boundaries, but gradual changes. It's like a spectrum of light, it's easy to see that this is red and that is blue, but narrowing down the exact point where it changes just doesn't work.Which taxonomy? There's quite a few systems for different groups.
(See
Ever Since
Reinventing Darwin, by Niles Eldredge.)
On the other hand: I wish I had an attack pack of friendly raptors!
Doesn't everyone? I'd name my pack leader Fluffy.
Velosaurus rex? LOL We need to come up with more names for made up combiner dinos. Stuff like: Dinostein or Frankensaurus. If it were up to me I'd call it "Chimeradon".
Ultraraptor = Ultrasaurus + Velociraptor
Diplomimus = Diplodocus + Suchiomimus (or Galimimus, I suppose)
Pachyceratops = Pachycephalosaurus + Triceratops
Spinoceratops = Spinosaurus + Triceratops (WANT!!!)
Brachioceratops Rex = Brachiosaurus + Triceratops + Tyrannosaurus Rex
I hope I'm spelling these right, I'm sorely out of practice...