Beasts of the Mesozoic Accuracy Check

[Dobber]

Mirroraptor, is this the specimen you're referring to?: http://dinoweb.ucoz.ru/_fr/2/0900402.jpeg

Yes.Thank you.

I'm glad I could find it!  I've seen this specimen referred to as an undescribed Tianyuraptor-like dromaeosaurid, so when you mentioned it has been regarded as Tianyuraptor's adult, I thought of this specimen.  I read it's reported to be 2.5 metres long.

This specimen seems similar to both Tianyuraptor and Zhenyuanlong, but it seems to look more like Tianyuraptor to me.  Is it being called an unnamed species of Zhenyuanlong now?  I'm guessing it's still undescribed?

Oh NICE! I haven't seen that before. Is that darker area around the neck evidence of flesh and plumage? If so that would demonstrate what I've been saying about how theropod's are always made with skinny necks...even with feathers.

Chris

[Sim]

As far as I know that specimen hasn't been described yet.  However, where I read about it, it said it has feathers on at least the neck, torso and tail, and that the neck feathers are very long.

In this blog post https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/greg-pauls-dinosaurs-a-field-guide/ Darren Naish explains how when flattened fossils preserve soft tissue, they often preserve it different to how it would look in life to an extent:

But is there any evidence for a 'dorsal fin' in Beipiaosaurus? An excellent referred specimen preserves the subtriangular patch of integument that Paul has restored as a 'dorsal fin' (Xu et al. 2009), but, like other integument-bearing patches preserved adjacent to the specimen, I don't think you can confidently infer that it represents a soft-tissue structure in life position. The Liaoning Province fossils are mostly flattened. Like most fossils with soft tissues attached, their outlines are not sharp and life-like, but messy and the result of decomposition and compression. Taphonomic experiments have shown that, when the bodies of modern birds are crushed flat, large feathery crests not present in life typically result (Foth 2011).

So I'm not sure to what extent feathers on this dromaeosaurid specimen look like they would in life, but its neck feathers appear to be very long in any case.  The feathers of its neck look a lot longer than those on its body and tail.  The feathers of its tail also look a lot shorter than those preserved in the Zhenyuanlong suni specimen, so maybe this undescribed dromaeosaurid really is a Tianyuraptor?

I think this undescribed dromaeosaurid is an example of a theropod which doesn't have a skinny-looking neck.  I wouldn't expect this for all theropods though, since there are some with skinny looking feathered necks, such as Sinosauropteryx and a number of extant birds.

And yeah, this dromaeosaurid is nice!  I'm impressed by its large size! 

[Halichoeres]

That's an amazing fossil! Interesting about the "crests." It's easy to imagine a flap of skin rotting halfway off and giving the impressions of protrusions that weren't really there in life.

[Flaffy]

Photos needs to be fixed on this thread. 

[Concavenator]

I like the Dromaeosaurus - how accurate is it?

[Ravonium]

D @Dinoguy2 Do you plan to do this for the ceratopsians at some point?

[EmperorDinobot]

I too am having issues with the accuracy on these, and your analysis on Zhenyuanlong is on-point, even when you were using the promo pics. I own both versions, and their proportions bug me endlessly.

I'm also always wondering why in God's name they'd make animals that are super-fragmentary at most. And the more and more and more I look at Adasaurus' cranium and hips, the more I am convinced it's closer to avialae than to dromaeosauridae. We're looking at a similar case with Balaur. But then again, it's the first plastic Adasaurus ever as far as I know. Remember how in the early 90's we thought it was like a Velociraptor? This is 90's Adasaurus, but updated with feathers. Are the proportions wrong? More than likely. The thing had a thicc butt, and this doesn't necessarily reflect it.


But c'mon, I've been waiting for figures like these my entire life. And this is attempt #1. I love them. They are my children. And the Velociraptor is one of the sweetest dinosaurs I have ever owned. And I love all of their colors. Yeah, V. osmolskae, all 3 of them have weird colors, but they're very eye-pleasing. I never pictured a Velociraptor's color looking like a blue jay. But it looks cute. The colors are a big draw for me when it comes to this line.