Jurassic Park added DNA from amphibians.Obviously one of those sources was the uncommon 6’ Florida Flying Frog.Can’t find it listed?I TOLD you it was uncommon.(Just didn’t say HOW uncommon)
@flagmichael: they were actually about 0.5m tall. So Jurassic Park took huge liberties, making them nearly 4 times taller and at least twice as long. But a feathered dinosaur that comes a little higher than knee high on an adult man isn’t nearly as scary an antagonist.It would, however, fit well in a barrel or crate :)
Think of Velociraptors as large killer chickens – they were warm-blooded, feathered for warmth, flightless, and they probably ate mostly bugs and small lizards. Their long feathered arms weren’t for flight, but to nab little critters. Whether they ran in packs that could hunt larger prey is unknown,but even if they did, they’d have gobbled all the small critters they could find, too. Modern-day wolves eat a lot of mice to tide them over until the next time the pack manages to bring down something big. But they were definitely predators or omnivores; besides the teeth, their light speedy build implies that they had to seek concentrated food sources to take in enough calories to keep warm.
Modern birds must be descendants of something much like a small bug-eating velociraptor. (And I’ve seen free-range chickens tear apart a mouse like Jurassic Park velociraptors on the hunt.) The bones of the first “raptor” dinosaur found were with broken eggs, and so the paleontologists named them oviraptor = “egg thief”. Later on, they realized that those were the oviraptors’ own eggs, they died defending their nest. Oviraptors were chicken-sized warm-blooded dinosaurs with long arms and feathers for warmth, and like the larger velociraptor their build and teeth suggest they were predators; their size says their prey would have mostly been bugs. So imagine a small ‘raptor running with it’s arms outstretched to catch low-flying insects. Long feathers on the arm would extend its reach. Grow enough feathers, and it would be able to glide a bit and reach more bugs. A half-million years of improving those capabilities, and you’d have a bird.
“A lot less meat. Our planet will thank us.”.Not that the planet will notice or care. It’ll be an ashen rock in 5 billion years, no matter what we do. Everything in between is borrowed time anyway.
ireadem about 9 years ago
Huh?
flagmichael about 9 years ago
And Velociraptors were about a yard (meter) tall. Jurassic Park took liberties.
pamlicorat about 9 years ago
yep.
David Huie Green LosersBlameOthers&It'sYOURfault about 9 years ago
Jurassic Park added DNA from amphibians.Obviously one of those sources was the uncommon 6’ Florida Flying Frog.Can’t find it listed?I TOLD you it was uncommon.(Just didn’t say HOW uncommon)
Greg Johnston about 9 years ago
@flagmichael: they were actually about 0.5m tall. So Jurassic Park took huge liberties, making them nearly 4 times taller and at least twice as long. But a feathered dinosaur that comes a little higher than knee high on an adult man isn’t nearly as scary an antagonist.It would, however, fit well in a barrel or crate :)
markmoss1 about 9 years ago
Think of Velociraptors as large killer chickens – they were warm-blooded, feathered for warmth, flightless, and they probably ate mostly bugs and small lizards. Their long feathered arms weren’t for flight, but to nab little critters. Whether they ran in packs that could hunt larger prey is unknown,but even if they did, they’d have gobbled all the small critters they could find, too. Modern-day wolves eat a lot of mice to tide them over until the next time the pack manages to bring down something big. But they were definitely predators or omnivores; besides the teeth, their light speedy build implies that they had to seek concentrated food sources to take in enough calories to keep warm.
Modern birds must be descendants of something much like a small bug-eating velociraptor. (And I’ve seen free-range chickens tear apart a mouse like Jurassic Park velociraptors on the hunt.) The bones of the first “raptor” dinosaur found were with broken eggs, and so the paleontologists named them oviraptor = “egg thief”. Later on, they realized that those were the oviraptors’ own eggs, they died defending their nest. Oviraptors were chicken-sized warm-blooded dinosaurs with long arms and feathers for warmth, and like the larger velociraptor their build and teeth suggest they were predators; their size says their prey would have mostly been bugs. So imagine a small ‘raptor running with it’s arms outstretched to catch low-flying insects. Long feathers on the arm would extend its reach. Grow enough feathers, and it would be able to glide a bit and reach more bugs. A half-million years of improving those capabilities, and you’d have a bird.
goweeder about 9 years ago
Very informative and well-written. Thank you.
ron about 9 years ago
I’ve got a velociraptor outside my window right new. The ancient ones became what we today call “birds”.
phxhocking about 9 years ago
Well, well, well….is somebody actually brave enough to take on the issue of factory farming in this country? I sure hope so!
dflak about 9 years ago
Crate and Barrel: sounds like the name of a law firm, or maybe a pub.
David Huie Green LosersBlameOthers&It'sYOURfault about 9 years ago
“A lot less meat. Our planet will thank us.”.Not that the planet will notice or care. It’ll be an ashen rock in 5 billion years, no matter what we do. Everything in between is borrowed time anyway.