h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Paleontologists continue to make new discoveries. There is no way to know what theories might need to be clarified or even dropped because of new findings.

Indeed, a lot has apparently changed since the late 1960s when I took a course in historical geology [arguably my favorite course]. I chuckle when I read about fundamentalist Christians arguing that dinosaur fossils were put into the ground by Satan in order to obscure the "fact" that the world is less than 6,000 years old.

Some of the things I *think* I know about dinosaurs, things that were regarded as true when I learned them, are now disputed. Some of the things that are generally regarded as true today may or may not stand the test of time. Scientists regularly disagree with ach other. That is part of their job.

Though that feathers thing is clearly Satan's work. Dinosaurs were leathery killing machines, not downy oversized chickens.

http://xkcd.com/1104/

"...fundamentalist Christians arguing that dinosaur fossils were put into the ground by Satan... ...to obscure the "fact" that the world is less than 6000 years old...

Manichaeanism!

Imputing creative powers to Satan.

An allegation like that could have gotten them burned at the stake for heresy during the Inquisiton.

I suppose that was among the issues driving the Protestant reformation

So does the way the image of dinosaurs has changed over the last 20 years made a difference? Are scaled reptiles more frightening than feathered birds?

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I've always thought of dinosaurs as being leathery rather than scaly. The teath and claws ar scary, no matter what the rest of the dinosaur looks like. Having said that, I don't think Jurassic Park's velociraptors would have looked as threatening or menacing with feathers.

They're cute fluffy little things, feathered raptors.

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Until they rip your guts out and feast on them.

"So does the way the image of dinosaurs has changed over the last 20 years made a difference? Are scaled reptiles more frightening than feathered birds?" [Bluebottle]

"Land before Time" and "Dinotopia" were cute and cuddly, scales or not. Dilbert's friend, Bob the Dinosaur, was cool. Barney was aimed at little kids, so how scary was he allowed to be?

I agree with those who think a line should be drawn somewhere along the evolutionary process to demarcate the point at which something is so different form its ancestors that it should no longer be classed with them. Let's talk about bacteria and algae. They evolved into multi-celled organisms, which then became arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, etc. Nobody tries to argue that, because these evolved form bacteria, they should still be considered bacteria. From what we know about birds and dinosaurs, there must be a way to argue that birds eventually evolved past the point where they could be considered dinosaurs.

I'm not sure that feathers would make them less scary. Some hawks and other birds of prey can look seriously menacing and scary in attack mode - and if you scale them up in size maybe ten or fifty times - well, I think I'd need clean underwear!

Yes, except that 'feathers' makes me think of fancy hats and feather boas. So if I try to imagine feathered dinosaurs, my imagination gets all muddled up and I picture Tyrannosaurus Rex mincing around dressed like Snape being Neville's Gran in the boggart scene in Harry Potter 3.

Which is not scary.

Mol

But then, not many creatures are scary when they are dead and turned into music hall costumes. Feathers make me think of birds more than boas or hats, but I realise I'm probably weird that way.

"Yes, except that 'feathers' makes me think of fancy hats and feather boas. [...] Which is not scary."


Perhaps these will help ---


http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20150106161209/dinosaurs/images/a/a1/Tyrannosaurus_new.png


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EHntLOIJPZg/UGdN926a4TI/AAAAAAAATJU/JaJoEoOIWxM/s1600/dino4.jpeg


http://popcultureasylum.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/velociraptor-mongoliensis1.jpg


http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--PqGyleTr--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/891218392065697935.jpg

People generally aren't killed by birds, so we don't associate them as being scary. s can kill, s kill, in extremely rare cases an occasional - but I can't say I've ever heard of someone being killed by a .

Even though even the humble polly parrot still has a pretty powerful bite that can hammer through nut shells with no problem that could do us some serious damage if they wished to bite your finger off (particularly the Norwegian Blue...). And of course dinosaur raptors like Velociraptor are named after raptors, which are birds of prey that kill with beak and claw - apex predators at the top of their food chain.

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Southern Cassowarry is one of the most dangerous animals on the planet Critical Injury & Death

I wouldn't fancy taking on a secretary bird either, having seen one kick the living doodah out of a rubber snake.

Yes tough bird that, it looked like prevision comparisons were with relativity harmless birds.

The Cassowary has always looked to me like something that belongs millions of years ago.

There is a similarity between the footprints of emus / ostriches and therapod dinosaurs (the group birds evolved from). Some scientists study the way emus move to get an idea how dinosaurs may have moved.

Anybody who thinks birds can't be scary should check out gastornis and phorusrhacos, two large flightless birds. Gastornis, about 7' tall, lived around 50 million years ago. Phorusrhacos, nearly 10' tall, lived about 1 million years ago. Both were carnivores. Both look extremely scary.

Both appear in 'Walking With Beasts' too - aptly named Terror-Birds.

Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei) may have had up to a 10-foot wing span (most would have been smaller).

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Then there's diatryma gigantea, about 7' tall, lived during the late Paleocene - early Eocene. Paleontologists can't agree whether it was carnivorous or herbivorous. Its beak looks vicious either way.

I admit I got gastornis and phorusrhacos from Walking with Beasts. Diatryma came from the Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals.