Jurassic park?

[remitort071312]

Every job has its challenges, but I love what I do. Of course, no one can clone pre-avian dinosaurs. However, I use DNA sequencing to study bison, which to me is just as cool.

Actually, some labs in Japan, Russia, and the US are trying to clone the woolly mammoth. You'd think this would be much easier than cloning dinosaurs, since mammoths are just extinct furry elephants. However, it's still a daunting task. We'll see if they can ever accomplish this feat. I hope they can!

Now that would be something interesting to witness

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Jurassic Park has always been one of my favorite films. The scene when Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler first set eyes on the Brachiosaurus in the open field is one of the most magical moments in cinematic history for me. As a dino-nut, this was the first film where I could have (almost) believed I was seeing REAL dinosaurs on the big screen, not some B-rate puppet or animatronic.

I still hold most film SFX to the standards put forth in Jurassic Park. Hats off to Industrial Light & Magic, and Stan Winston Studios.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Jurassic Park has always been one of my favorite films. The scene when Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler first set eyes on the Brachiosaurus in the open field is one of the most magical moments in cinematic history for me. As a dino-nut, this was the first film where I could have (almost) believed I was seeing REAL dinosaurs on the big screen, not some B-rate puppet or animatronic.

I still hold most film SFX to the standards put forth in Jurassic Park. Hats off to Industrial Light & Magic, and Stan Winston Studios.

Yes, that scene was definitely memorable. I felt like I had happened upon a giant sauropod along with the people in the film. It was a magical moment.

 

[DeanS]

I, too, was completely captivated by the JP series...especially the first one...and at age 30, I might add! The CGI was as good as it gets...and even today, it's unmatched! My ONLY real gripe was in JP3...even for its great size, there's no way Spinosaurus defeats (much less preys on) T rex...if for no other reason than its jaw structure...it was a fish eater...the long narrow snout and, of course, the sail, make it a swamp/lake/ocean dweller. Of course, it figures that rex would suffer at the hands of the Jumanji director (Joe Johnson). This never would have happened under Spielberg's reins! On the flipside, the cunning of velociraptor was brilliant...I just wish they stuck a little closer to the novels (one and two, anyway). Michael Crichton was going to pen JP4 and Spielberg was going to direct the fourth installment...but then MC died...and the project was abandoned.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I, too, was completely captivated by the JP series...especially the first one...and at age 30, I might add! The CGI was as good as it gets...and even today, it's unmatched! My ONLY real gripe was in JP3...even for its great size, there's no way Spinosaurus defeats (much less preys on) T rex...if for no other reason than its jaw structure...it was a fish eater...the long narrow snout and, of course, the sail, make it a swamp/lake/ocean dweller. Of course, it figures that rex would suffer at the hands of the Jumanji director (Joe Johnson). This never would have happened under Spielberg's reins! On the flipside, the cunning of velociraptor was brilliant...I just wish they stuck a little closer to the novels (one and two, anyway).

Yeah, every dinosaur nut loves to point out the inaccuracies. But it's all still good popcorn fodder! I have to admit, I occasionally stick in JP3 and skip to that exact scene just to watch the two huge predatory dinos duke it out! (I do the same thing with King Kong when he fights all three V. rexes.)

and, of course, the sail, make it a swamp/lake/ocean dweller.

There is ample evidence indicating that spinosaurids ate fish, but what does the sail have to do their supposed habitat? There is no evidence that this made Spinosaurus a better swimmer than any other theropod, not to mention its close relatives, Baryonx and Suchomimus lacked the tall spines.

Michael Crichton was going to pen JP4 and Spielberg was going to direct the fourth installment...but then MC died...and the project was abandoned.

I don't think the project was ever completely abandoned. It's just been in "production hell" since JP 3. They still have to nail down a good story.

At the 2011, Spielberg confirmed that JP IV was in progress. One of the producers re-affirmed this in July of this year, that the film would "be on the screen within two years."

 

[acrantophis]

I am a Dinosaur nut as well. I have an autographed copy of "The Dinosaur Heresies" by Dr. Robert T. Bakker. He was the consultant for JP. I went to a lecture of his in Boulder Colorado. Fascinating! One of the first paleontologist to suggest the avian/Dino relationship.

 

[DrewsLife727]

Whoa that's old school ha

-Drew

 

[Tom]

In college, one of my professors was a Dino nut. We studied Archeopteryx extensively.

Jurassic Park is one of my favorites to. My favorite line is Jeff Goldblum's, "... life will find a way...". Classic I tell you. Classic.

 

[acrantophis]

In college, one of my professors was a Dino nut. We studied Archeopteryx extensively.

Jurassic Park is one of my favorites to. My favorite line is Jeff Goldblum's, "... life will find a way...". Classic I tell you. Classic.

I have a full size reproduction of the famous Solinhofen/Berlin specimen archaeopteryx hanging in my bedroom! It's awesome!

 

[Kerryann]

I love this movie. I think the velocrapters are kind of cute honestly.. besides the fact they'd eat your face.

 

[DeanS]

There is ample evidence indicating that spinosaurids ate fish, but what does the sail have to do their supposed habitat? There is no evidence that this made Spinosaurus a better swimmer than any other theropod, not to mention its close relatives, Baryonx and Suchomimus lacked the tall spines.

I presume that spinosaurus had to contend regularly with the Arabian, Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as the Nile...which may (or may not) have been deeper and wider...and the sail would have made it a more precision swimmer...or maybe it served as a sort of 'net' to stun (or trap) its intended meal.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

There is ample evidence indicating that spinosaurids ate fish, but what does the sail have to do their supposed habitat? There is no evidence that this made Spinosaurus a better swimmer than any other theropod, not to mention its close relatives, Baryonx and Suchomimus lacked the tall spines.

I presume that spinosaurus had to contend regularly with the Arabian, Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as the Nile...which may (or may not) have been deeper and wider...and the sail would have made it a more precision swimmer...or maybe it served as a sort of 'net' to stun (or trap) its intended meal.

Its all speculation really, since we only have a vague sense of the environment this animal lived in. I have to admit, you may have to elaborate on how those spines could "trap" prey.

In all seriousness, spinosaurids, with their long crocodile-like snouts and large clawed forelimb, very likely behaved somewhat like a giant mix of a heron and a grizzly bear; the clawed arms (with a huge, thumb claw) good for hook-snatching fish out of the water, and the long snout for snapping at smaller prey. The jaws of these carnivores lacked the bone-crushing strength of those of tyrannosaur or the slice-n-dicing, serrated teeth of allosaurs, carcharodontids, etc.

The spine will always be a bit of a mystery, as not all creatures that shared the same time period and environment had this characteristic. Nor did other spinosaurids have tall neural spines. The most prevalent theories are:

• Display - an way to display to conspecifics, or identify between species (the relative, Suchomimus, did occupy the same region at the same time)
• Thermoregulation - its is often thought that North Africa (much like today) was much hotter and drier than other parts of the world 100-112 million yrs ago. This predatory giant would position itself accordingly, either parallel or facing the sun's rays to warm up or cool off more rapidly.
• "Hump" - a more contempory theory, it is sometimes surmised that these spines held up not a thin sail, but thick, fatty tissue, like a hump, similar to what you may see on modern day bison.

It should also be noted that the herbivore, Ouranosaurus, shared the same region and time period. It, too, had tall neural spines very similar in design to Spinosaurus. The spines of these dinosaurs are different from other "spined" dinos, such as Amargasaurus, and the very early pelycosaur finbacks Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon. I would assume the primary reason for one is true for the other.

Another theory of my own, is that although the primary purpose still alludes us, perhaps the coloration of Spinosaurus was similar to Ouranosaurus, maybe a form of mimicry to aid in predation. Think about it....take both species, make a black silhouette of each and put them side by side. You essentially have a large, sail-backed, long-snouted dinosaur. There are many cases of this in nature today. I would not be surprised at all if Spinosaurus evolved to have coloration similar to Ouranosaurus for this very reason, to better stalk the duck-billed herbivores.

 

[DeanS]

There is ample evidence indicating that spinosaurids ate fish, but what does the sail have to do their supposed habitat? There is no evidence that this made Spinosaurus a better swimmer than any other theropod, not to mention its close relatives, Baryonx and Suchomimus lacked the tall spines.

I presume that spinosaurus had to contend regularly with the Arabian, Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as the Nile...which may (or may not) have been deeper and wider...and the sail would have made it a more precision swimmer...or maybe it served as a sort of 'net' to stun (or trap) its intended meal.

Its all speculation really, since we only have a vague sense of the environment this animal lived in. I have to admit, you may have to elaborate on how those spines could "trap" prey.

In all seriousness, spinosaurids, with their long crocodile-like snouts and large clawed forelimb, very likely behaved somewhat like a giant mix of a heron and a grizzly bear; the clawed arms (with a huge, thumb claw) good for hook-snatching fish out of the water, and the long snout for snapping at smaller prey. The jaws of these carnivores lacked the bone-crushing strength of those of tyrannosaur or the slice-n-dicing, serrated teeth of allosaurs, carcharodontids, etc.

The spine will always be a bit of a mystery, as not all creatures that shared the same time period and environment had this characteristic. Nor did other spinosaurids have tall neural spines. The most prevalent theories are:

• Display - an way to display to conspecifics, or identify between species (the relative, Suchomimus, did occupy the same region at the same time)
• Thermoregulation - its is often thought that North Africa (much like today) was much hotter and drier than other parts of the world 100-112 million yrs ago. This predatory giant would position itself accordingly, either parallel or facing the sun's rays to warm up or cool off more rapidly.
• "Hump" - a more contempory theory, it is sometimes surmised that these spines held up not a thin sail, but thick, fatty tissue, like a hump, similar to what you may see on modern day bison.

It should also be noted that the herbivore, Ouranosaurus, shared the same region and time period. It, too, had tall neural spines very similar in design to Spinosaurus. The spines of these dinosaurs are different from other "spined" dinos, such as Amargasaurus, and the very early pelycosaur finbacks Edaphosaurus and Dimetrodon. I would assume the primary reason for one is true for the other.

Another theory of my own, is that although the primary purpose still alludes us, perhaps the coloration of Spinosaurus was similar to Ouranosaurus, maybe a form of mimicry to aid in predation. Think about it....take both species, make a black silhouette of each and put them side by side. You essentially have a large, sail-backed, long-snouted dinosaur. There are many cases of this in nature today. I would not be surprised at all if Spinosaurus evolved to have coloration similar to Ouranosaurus for this very reason, to better stalk the duck-billed herbivores.

I'm thinking that the spines may have been flexible to some degree...of course, it's far out thinking...but again...it's ALL speculation!

I do, however, like the 'heron, grizzly' theory...I also liked how T rex head-butted spinosaurus...I thought that was VERY likely true-to-life. I also doubt that rex would have relinquished his bite once he had ahold of his foe!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

In college, one of my professors was a Dino nut. We studied Archeopteryx extensively.

Jurassic Park is one of my favorites to. My favorite line is Jeff Goldblum's, "... life will find a way...". Classic I tell you. Classic.

I love that quote, too. Individuals, species, and even communities may die out, but Life still somehow manages to go on and on and on. Amazing!

Thank you, OP, for starting this JP thread. I should've known a bunch of turtle-heads would love a good story about dinos.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

I was watching one documentary on how Spinosaurus tore apart its prey. As mentioned before, since they had conical teeth like crocodiles, they couldn't slice/cut like allosaurs or crush/chomp like a rex, the theory was they actually just held the prey in their jaws and thrashed it against surrounding decor (water, rocks, trees), pulverizing it until it more or less "fell apart" into smaller pieces; much like what modern crocodilians do with larger prey!
----

I always tell folks they were like great white sharks or Komodo dragons; they just took one huge debilitating bite out of the prey, and then let it limp away to bleed to death, or die of shock or infection.

I have always loved theropods, and the weirder ones always interest me more! I'll be honest, once I found out that dromeasaurs (raptors) had feathers, I kinda lost interest in them. Probably because I don't like birds. Of course, T. rex is always a favorite.

If anyone is interested, one of the best contemporary books about dinos is Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages by Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. & Luis Rey. Not too wordy and detailed, so its great for most kids, but its still pretty extensive for even adult dino lovers.

 

[remitort071312]

That's neat!

 

[CGKeith]

I read the first book to my family before the movie came out. They would sit up each night waiting to find out what was going to happen next.
Then the movie was great, it was like icing on the cake to get such a realistic visual of what we had been imagining in our heads.

If you haven't read the books you need to. There is quite a bit more in the books that is not in the movies.

Well, actually the third movie has a some of what was left out of the first 2 movies kinda put together to make the third movie.

And yes I still watch them just about every time they show them on TV even though I own them.

 

[TinkfromMD]

My house cats act like raptors.