For those of us that loved JURASSIC PARK when it came out 20 years ago, you will love these behind the scenes videos of the mechanics of the full size animatronic puppets used in the film.
And, with the re-release of JP, this time in 3D, the timing couldn't be better
Keep in mind, that the site seems to update with new videos, so check back often.
Dig up all the information you need on the planet's greatest creatures.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Parrot-Headed, Porcupine Dinosaur "Found"
Interesting "new" dinosaur "discovered". Yes, I'm "quote" crazy. That's because this guy was apparently lying around in a Harvard University drawer for 50 years.
Read more here for the full story.
Read more here for the full story.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Papo Running Tyrannosaurus
Over the last few years, Papo has released very detailed dinosaur figures. Some with movable parts.I had gotten the allosaurus and their original Tyrannosaurus rex. Most of their replicas have a look and feel of the Jurassic Park movie representations.
Now, they've come out with a T. rex in a running pose. Again, it looks like the JP version of a T. rex, but it also has subtleties like a set of irregular teeth.
Here's a great review of the running T. rex which also show the original Papo version.
Now, they've come out with a T. rex in a running pose. Again, it looks like the JP version of a T. rex, but it also has subtleties like a set of irregular teeth.
Here's a great review of the running T. rex which also show the original Papo version.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Jurassic Park in New Jersey?
That's right. This Memorial Day weekend, a new dinosaur exhibit opens in Secaucus, NJ. It's located deep in the wilds of the Meadowlands.
There's 31 animatronic dinosaurs. Some have more movement than others, but all look pretty spectacular and kids will love it!
Here's a link that tells all about it: http://fieldstationdinosaurs.com/news/browse/page-0 Be sure to click on all the Read More buttons to get lots of interesting information.
There's 31 animatronic dinosaurs. Some have more movement than others, but all look pretty spectacular and kids will love it!
Here's a link that tells all about it: http://fieldstationdinosaurs.com/news/browse/page-0 Be sure to click on all the Read More buttons to get lots of interesting information.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Future Updates to the Dinosaurology Blog
Most of the posts that I've done so far were written while back when I had plans for a web site for the information. I decided to make it a blog figuring it would be easier to continually add information. So, once I came up with a name for the blog I uploaded all that I had written up to that time.
In the future, I'd like to do a few things: Continue writing general information about dinosaurs that I think is interesting (and hopefully interesting to others). Possibly get into more depth with the dinosaur/bird connection, extinction theories, and other topics that seem to get updated and change from time to time. And, try to keep up with the latest dinosaur related news.
Another topic I will cover is dinosaurs in movies. Seeing King Kong (1933) for the first time back in the 70s cemented my love of all things prehistoric. This eventually led to watching Japanese kaiju films as well, even though they weren't "real" prehistoric animals. But, they were cool!
So, hopefully, with trying to make a living and starting our animal welfare organization (Crossroads Companion Animal Partnership) I will have time to post often enough to keep the blog afloat.
In the future, I'd like to do a few things: Continue writing general information about dinosaurs that I think is interesting (and hopefully interesting to others). Possibly get into more depth with the dinosaur/bird connection, extinction theories, and other topics that seem to get updated and change from time to time. And, try to keep up with the latest dinosaur related news.
Another topic I will cover is dinosaurs in movies. Seeing King Kong (1933) for the first time back in the 70s cemented my love of all things prehistoric. This eventually led to watching Japanese kaiju films as well, even though they weren't "real" prehistoric animals. But, they were cool!
So, hopefully, with trying to make a living and starting our animal welfare organization (Crossroads Companion Animal Partnership) I will have time to post often enough to keep the blog afloat.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
What is NOT a dinosaur? (In The Sea)
During the Mesozoic era, the seas were teaming with life. As creatures of all shapes and sizes were filling the skies, the sea was home to a myriad of aquatic wonders. Some are relatives of some of todays marine life, like sharks and whales. Others were unique animals who's lineage died along with the many of the dinosaurs. We will be strictly speaking of vertebrates, but be assured, there were many invertebrates inhabiting the seas as well. Some were food for the animals we will be discussing! Since the focus of the site is dinosaurs, I'm not going to get into too much detail about every group of marine reptiles.
The Triassic period gave rise to many different types of marine reptiles. Placodonts are described as having the appearance of a walrus-turtle combo. Very strange, to say the least. There favorite food was mollusks (clams, snails, mussels). They were between 3-6 feet in length, had clawed hands and feet, came in an armored and unarmored variety, and fed primarily at the sea bottom.
Nothosaurs looked a little more like your classic "sea monster". They had a somewhat long neck, four clawed appendages that were most likely webbed to make it easier to propel the animal through water. They grew to about 10 feet in length and their diet consisted mainly of fish. Some people have suggested that they may have had a seal-like lifestyle, waddling themselves onto land occasionally, but spending most of their time in the water.
Nothosaurs and Pacodonts nver made it past the Triassic. But another group, ichthyosaurs, made it all the way through to the mid Cretaceous. Ichthyosaurs sort of resembled dolphins, but with longer snouts (among other differences). They had four "flippers" made up of many tiny bones. They came in many sizes. The largest almost 50 feet long! They had two main body types. Lizard shaped and fish shaped. Fish-shaped version resemble dolphins and the lizard-shaped ones looked like sharks. Many ate fish, but it seems squidlike creatures were a favorite.
Plesiosaurs are some of the most recognized sea creatures of the mesozoic. They are the classic "Loch Ness Monster"-looking creature. They arrived in the late Triassic Period and lasted on through the late Cretaceous. Their typical description is long neck, wide body, short tail, and four flippers. They came in two types: long neck, small head (plesiosaurs), short neck, large head (pliosaurs). An example of a pliosaur would be lipleurodon, which was seen in the television show, Walking with Dinosaurs. Their size ranged from 6 feet to 65 feet. They seemed to eat anything and everything, depending on where they lived and on individual species preferences.
During the Cretaceous, plesiosaurs had competition from some other large marine reptiles called mosasaurs. They are thought to be related to the Komodo dragon or perhaps even snakes. Their bodies were similar in shape to a large lizard as was the head filled with many sharp teeth. Their bodies were very long ending with a long, flat tail. They also had four flippers, the front ones sometimes slightly larger than the rear ones.Their size ranged from 3 feet in length to around 60 feet.
These are by no means all the marine life that was abundant during the Mesozoic Era. These are just some examples of some of the more famous and recognizable creatures that inhabited the seas. Perhaps, in the future I will delve more deeply into Mesozoic sea life, but for now these should give you some idea of what kinds animals inhabited the sea at the same time as the dinosaurs ruled the land.
The Triassic period gave rise to many different types of marine reptiles. Placodonts are described as having the appearance of a walrus-turtle combo. Very strange, to say the least. There favorite food was mollusks (clams, snails, mussels). They were between 3-6 feet in length, had clawed hands and feet, came in an armored and unarmored variety, and fed primarily at the sea bottom.
Nothosaurs looked a little more like your classic "sea monster". They had a somewhat long neck, four clawed appendages that were most likely webbed to make it easier to propel the animal through water. They grew to about 10 feet in length and their diet consisted mainly of fish. Some people have suggested that they may have had a seal-like lifestyle, waddling themselves onto land occasionally, but spending most of their time in the water.
Nothosaurs and Pacodonts nver made it past the Triassic. But another group, ichthyosaurs, made it all the way through to the mid Cretaceous. Ichthyosaurs sort of resembled dolphins, but with longer snouts (among other differences). They had four "flippers" made up of many tiny bones. They came in many sizes. The largest almost 50 feet long! They had two main body types. Lizard shaped and fish shaped. Fish-shaped version resemble dolphins and the lizard-shaped ones looked like sharks. Many ate fish, but it seems squidlike creatures were a favorite.
Plesiosaurs are some of the most recognized sea creatures of the mesozoic. They are the classic "Loch Ness Monster"-looking creature. They arrived in the late Triassic Period and lasted on through the late Cretaceous. Their typical description is long neck, wide body, short tail, and four flippers. They came in two types: long neck, small head (plesiosaurs), short neck, large head (pliosaurs). An example of a pliosaur would be lipleurodon, which was seen in the television show, Walking with Dinosaurs. Their size ranged from 6 feet to 65 feet. They seemed to eat anything and everything, depending on where they lived and on individual species preferences.
During the Cretaceous, plesiosaurs had competition from some other large marine reptiles called mosasaurs. They are thought to be related to the Komodo dragon or perhaps even snakes. Their bodies were similar in shape to a large lizard as was the head filled with many sharp teeth. Their bodies were very long ending with a long, flat tail. They also had four flippers, the front ones sometimes slightly larger than the rear ones.Their size ranged from 3 feet in length to around 60 feet.
These are by no means all the marine life that was abundant during the Mesozoic Era. These are just some examples of some of the more famous and recognizable creatures that inhabited the seas. Perhaps, in the future I will delve more deeply into Mesozoic sea life, but for now these should give you some idea of what kinds animals inhabited the sea at the same time as the dinosaurs ruled the land.
What is NOT a dinosaur? (In The Air)
Dinosaurs were not the only animals around during the Mesozoic, but may people think so. Of course, there were also insects, lizards, amphibians, and later, birds. Dinosaurs are technically classified as terrestrial (living on land) animals. If they flew or swam, they aren't considered dinosaurs. Here we will look at some of the other types of prehistoric, and now extinct, animals living during the reign of the dinosaurs.
Let's start in the air. One group of animals that you see in lots of dinosaur drawings, paintings, and movies, is pterosaurs, which means "winged lizard". These were the great flying reptiles. Firstly, lets get the pronunciation out of the way. It's pronounced "ter-ro-sore". The "P" is silent. My guess, is that it was put there so 1st graders would learn how to pronounce it correctly, while their parents struggled with it, therefore, making the 1st grader somewhat superior to their parent, at least in one aspect of life.
Pterosaurs came into being towards the end of the Triassic period and flourished on through to the end of the Cretaceous. As it seems with most animals, they started out quite small and grew to huge B-52 size majestic flyers.
Pterosaurs formed two main groups: ones with long tails and ones with short tails. The long tailed pterosaurs evolved first. The long-tailed rhamphorhynchoids lasted from the late Triassic period until the late Jurassic. Then the short-tailed pterodactyl took over into the late Cretaceous. The most notable differences between the two groups are in appearance. The rhamphorhynchoids were quite small, had shorter necks and heads and a mouth full of teeth, some having quite bizarre dental work! Pterodactyls were all toothless, had short necks and sported elaborate head crests that might have been brightly colored in life.These groups are considered somewhat "informal" in the paleontological world and many scientists break the pterosaurs into more specific categories.
So, how did these buggers get around? Well, they flew, of course? And glided...and walked. At first, most scientists assumed they were purely gliders. They would need tall trees or cliffs to start from, then glide down on warm air currents. While this may be true, especially for pterosaurs that lived near the sea, they could also fly. Probably not as well as birds or bats, but they could do it. They had adaptations like hollow bones and powerful muscles built around a breast bone important for the stamina needed for flight.
Pterosaur remains have mostly been found in marine deposits, meaning these particular species were living in a marine environment. Perhaps soaring over seas or lakes to eat fish as some modern birds of pray do today. Just because their remains have not been found in many different environments, does not mean they did not live elsewhere. Between the physical structure of these animals and the fossil preserving aspects of other area such as deserts or forests, dead pterosaurs, perhaps, just didn't fossilize in those areas. It usually takes a pretty specific set of circumstances to preserve an animal in a fossilized state.
So, while dinosaurs roamed the land, these guys were flying overhead and probably, in some instances, battling carnivores for carcasses. Also, at the same time, there was another group of "non dinosaurs" thriving, but they were in the sea. Lets take a look at the life and times of marine reptiles next.
Next-Marine Reptiles.
Let's start in the air. One group of animals that you see in lots of dinosaur drawings, paintings, and movies, is pterosaurs, which means "winged lizard". These were the great flying reptiles. Firstly, lets get the pronunciation out of the way. It's pronounced "ter-ro-sore". The "P" is silent. My guess, is that it was put there so 1st graders would learn how to pronounce it correctly, while their parents struggled with it, therefore, making the 1st grader somewhat superior to their parent, at least in one aspect of life.
Pterosaurs came into being towards the end of the Triassic period and flourished on through to the end of the Cretaceous. As it seems with most animals, they started out quite small and grew to huge B-52 size majestic flyers.
Pterosaurs formed two main groups: ones with long tails and ones with short tails. The long tailed pterosaurs evolved first. The long-tailed rhamphorhynchoids lasted from the late Triassic period until the late Jurassic. Then the short-tailed pterodactyl took over into the late Cretaceous. The most notable differences between the two groups are in appearance. The rhamphorhynchoids were quite small, had shorter necks and heads and a mouth full of teeth, some having quite bizarre dental work! Pterodactyls were all toothless, had short necks and sported elaborate head crests that might have been brightly colored in life.These groups are considered somewhat "informal" in the paleontological world and many scientists break the pterosaurs into more specific categories.
So, how did these buggers get around? Well, they flew, of course? And glided...and walked. At first, most scientists assumed they were purely gliders. They would need tall trees or cliffs to start from, then glide down on warm air currents. While this may be true, especially for pterosaurs that lived near the sea, they could also fly. Probably not as well as birds or bats, but they could do it. They had adaptations like hollow bones and powerful muscles built around a breast bone important for the stamina needed for flight.
Pterosaur remains have mostly been found in marine deposits, meaning these particular species were living in a marine environment. Perhaps soaring over seas or lakes to eat fish as some modern birds of pray do today. Just because their remains have not been found in many different environments, does not mean they did not live elsewhere. Between the physical structure of these animals and the fossil preserving aspects of other area such as deserts or forests, dead pterosaurs, perhaps, just didn't fossilize in those areas. It usually takes a pretty specific set of circumstances to preserve an animal in a fossilized state.
So, while dinosaurs roamed the land, these guys were flying overhead and probably, in some instances, battling carnivores for carcasses. Also, at the same time, there was another group of "non dinosaurs" thriving, but they were in the sea. Lets take a look at the life and times of marine reptiles next.
Next-Marine Reptiles.
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