Paleontologists Discuss Movie Dinosaurs (links)

[Simon]

100 years of  evolution of movie dinosaurs


http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/06/11/evolution_of_movie_dinosaurs_supercut_cinema_s_prehistoric_creatures_from.html

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Popcorn vs. Paleontology

Paleontologists take on Jurassic World

Tom Holtz

https://soundcloud.com/primediabroadcasting/dinosaurs-are-the-movies-wrong

http://www.robotbutt.com/2015/06/12/an-interview-with-thomas-r-holtz-dinosaur-rock-star/

Darren Naish

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/11/opinions/naish-jurassic-world-missed-opportunity/index.html

Francois Therrien

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/jurassic-world-has-royal-tyrrell-paleontologist-dreaming-up-scariest-dinosaur-hybrid-1.3110450

Nizar Ibrahim

http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2015/06/12/living-in-a-jurassic-world-qa-with-nizar-ibrahim/

Kirk Johnson and Matthew Carrano

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/06/12/two-smithsonian-paleontologists-review-jurassic-world/

Daniel Barta

http://www.mtv.com/news/2184283/jurassic-world-accurate/

Matt Lamanna

http://triblive.com/aande/movies/8533790-74/says-lamanna-dinosaurs#axzz3cs7i7XSx

Steve Brusatte

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-06/10/jurassic-world-dinosaur-expert

Jim Kirkland

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/paleontologists-give-jurassic-world-thumbs-down/
Pascal Godefroit (video) (in French)

http://www.lalibre.be/video/jurassic-world-vu-par-le-paleontologue-pascal-godefroit-5575bfc1357032756272f539

Luiz Eduardo Anelli (in Portuguese)

http://revistagalileu.globo.com/Cultura/Cinema/noticia/2015/06/perguntamos-um-paleontologo-o-que-ele-acha-de-jurassic-world.html

Hans Jakob Siber (in German)

http://www.derbund.ch/kultur/kino/Die-Aufnahmen-sind-fantastisch/story/10840225

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And some non-paleontologists

http://www.tor.com/2015/06/03/how-to-train-your-velociraptor/

http://io9.com/yes-jurassic-parks-bad-dinosaur-science-still-matters-1710655652

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/whats-wrong-flying-pterosaurs-jurassic-world/

http://thedailyorbit.com/the-dinosaurs-that-arent-actually-dinosaurs-of-jurassic-world-mosasaurs-and-pterosaurs-061115/

http://theconversation.com/jurassic-world-if-you-make-a-monster-it-will-always-bite-back-42481

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/06/12/4253274.htm

(in Portuguese)

http://www.jornalfloripa.com.br/emcimadahora/site/?p=noticias_ver&id=9199


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Gallery of old American Museum of Natural History mounts

http://time.com/3863595/original-jurassic-world/

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Not all ancient reptiles were dinosaurs: student explainer

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/that%E2%80%99s-no-dino

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North Dakota dinosaur digs

http://www.kfyrtv.com/home/headlines/North-Dakotas-Prehistoric-Times-Come-Alive-This-Summer-307077551.html

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More UK dinosaur celebrations

http://dinofest2015.co.uk/

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Last American Dinosaurs exhibit for kids

http://nmnh.typepad.com/100years/2015/06/5-dino-mite-tips-for-taking-kids-to-visit-the-last-american-dinosaurs.html

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Giant water reptiles

http://antediluviansalad.blogspot.com/2015/06/plesiosaur-machinations-x-senior-water.html

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How paleontologists work (in Chinese)

http://tech.sina.com.cn/d/c/2015-06-10/doc-ifvmvrch0587687.shtml



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Leedsichthys (in Czech)

https://dinosaurusblog.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/nejvetsi-ryba-vsech-dob/

[Doug Watson]

Paleontologists take on Jurassic World
Tom Holtz
https://soundcloud.com/primediabroadcasting/dinosaurs-are-the-movies-wrong

Typical media, here they are critiquing JW dinosaur accuracy and the accompanying photo on soundcloud.com is the V-rex from King Kong

[CityRaptor]

Well, they are the uneducated public. Every large Theropod ( and even some smaller ones ) is T-REX!!! for them.

[Doug Watson]

Well, they are the uneducated public. Every large Theropod ( and even some smaller ones ) is T-REX!!! for them.

Yes, and I forgot to mention the genius of interviewing Holtz about a movie he hadn't even seen yet!

[Tyto_Theropod]

CAUTION! RANT AHEAD!!!

Holtz, Naish, Kirkland & Farke: I totally agree with them - it was a missed opportunity. From what I've seen (don't plan on forking out the cash to go and see the whole thing) those dinosaurs are ugly to my eyes. They wouldn't have looked out of place in the 70s, but this is 2015, for crying out loud! It was a bad decision to go with continuity in the appearance of the dinosaurs when they could have updated them for the reboot and have explained it in-universe just as easily. Yes, Jurassic Park inspired a new generation of palaeontologists, but can't we build on the discoveries made by that new generation instead of being so backward?

Nizar Ibrahim: I pretty much agree with most of what he says.

KJ & MC: I think these guys may just be a little deranged...

Barta: Good job, pointing out the little things Although I think 'dinosaurs probably had red blood' was a bit... obvious. Most vertebrates do, never mind birds and crocodiles.

Lamanna: Palaeontologist who obviously likes AWESOMEBRO a bit too much for his own good.

I'm not sure why everyone is so anti 'trained' Velociraptors, though. Trained predatory dinosaurs isn't news - in fact it's been practiced for thousands of years and we know it as falconry.

"But Tyto", you say, "Velociraptor was bigger and probably more dangerous than a hawk or owl, so would a closer analogy be a wolf or lynx?"
Well, actually wolves, lynx, coyotes and the like don't really go after humans unless they're absolutely desperate (big cats are an entirely different kettle of fish, though!). On the other hand, birds of prey have been known to kill people who've disturbed their nests (whereas wolves with cubs would more likely try and lead the perceived threat away before resorting to violence, and even then they'd be more likely to run away).

And, shock horror, most big carnivores in captivity, be they mammal, bird or reptile, are actually trained to an extent. While it's still not a good idea to get in the enclosure with them, it's now common practice, as it allows for mental stimulation of the animal and they can be taught to present parts of their body on command (just like teaching a dog to give a paw), which makes medical check-ups and simple veterinary procedures like vaccinations easier for the vets and keepers and less stressful for the animal.

I know, I know, it's just a movie, you say, and you're being a pedantic killjoy, Tyto. But the fact remains that most of the general public seem to regard it as more than simple sci-fi. Also, to my mind at least, 'just a movie' isn't really a valid excuse. I don't expect Hollywood to get everything right (heck, even documentaries about dinosaurs get things wrong - case in point: venomous Sinornithosaurus in the otherwise mostly fantastic Planet Dinosaur).

But the thing is, these creatures are real animals, not dragons and unicorns. It's fun to use the fact that they're extinct as an excuse to ad lib, but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down and descend into complete fantasy. I hope that Hollywood wouldn't get away with a movie about inexplicably bald lions, bears and wolves doing nothing but fighting to the death, horrifically oversized reptilian killer whales with forked tongues and slit pupils and giant naked carnivorous ducks easily lifting grown men.



(...Or would they?!)