Mesozoic...we have a problem
Hi, everyone!
First, I want to thank you your support to my drawings and your time for reading this.
Ok, so right now I’m really busy so I couldn’t submit anything. But don’t worry. You will have drawing soon. Just be patiente.
However, today I’d like to discuss something different. Let’s talk about a real problem…dinosaur recreations.
Yeah, I know. It is not a life or death problem but it is important and I will show you why.
Dinosaurs are one of the more recognizable and well-known groups of vertebrates in the Fossil Record and in pop-culture.
It’s something mysterious in dinosaurs that call our attention. Is it because they look like dragons? Or maybe because there is some kind of genetic memory from our little furball ancestors, a primitive fear for those creatures that chased us in the past and is still present today in form of fascination? Who knows…
With new technololigies some crazy dudes thought it would be a great idea to add dinosaurs in a film. So the dinosaur fever begins.
One of the first films to show dinosaurs was The Lost World from 1925.
Today this look so inaccurate that I’m trying not to jump throw the window. However we have to understand that science is not always the same. It changes and the knowledge and hypothesis paleontologist had in that time were completely different to today. In fact, these dinos looks pretty accurate if we compare them with the paleoart of the time.
So these creatures impacted the public so hard that the dinosaur fever continue.
And how can we talk about dinosaur reconstruction without talking about Jurassic Park?
If you live under a rock and don’t like dinos (wtf are you doing here then?) you maybe don’t know this film…but let’s be honest. That is impossible…(I will talk about it anyway…because I want).
Jurassic Park was a film released in 1993 and based in the novel with the same name written by Michael Crichton. The movie, directed by Steven Spielberg (God bless you, man), have some of the best special effects ever made.
Look at that T.rex and tell me it’s not real. Come on! Do it (ok, it is highly inaccurate but we’re going to that later).
Jurassic Park count with the colaboration of two great paleontologist: John R. Horner (Alan Grant character is based in this dude) and Robert T. Bakker.
This movie had so much impact that the world hasn’t been the same since it appeared. People became crazy with dinos. Those creatures were so freaking cool!
I’m part of the generation of kids that Jurassic Park makes them wish to be a paleontologist…Well, in my case it was Walking with Dinosaurs from 1999 but we are leaving the topic.
Nevertheless, there is a dark side in Jurassic Park. Although great paleontologists participate the truth is that Jurassic Park has a lot of inaccuracies. This should not be a problem. It is a movie and it’s main objetive is entertain…right? Well…there is a problem…a real problem…and here is when we arrive to the real issue.
Because of the film was so succesfull people absorbed those dinosaurs representations and refuses to see these creatures in other way.
Now, we are in the middle of the Dinosaur Renaissance. A revolution in all we knew about these animals. And one of the more, if not the most, controversial matter that appears over the years is the feather.
Yes, guys. We are going to talk about feathers and birds.
Since XIX century we knew the existence of dinosaurs with feathers. Archaeopteryx lithographica. And don’t tell me it is a bird because guys…birds are dinosaurs. No. Really. Look at this cladogram (family tree).
Birds are dinos as well as we are primates.
So, if birds are dinosaurs…and birds have feathers…it is not hard to guess that dinos could have feathers. And it's true. A lot of precious fossils have appeared over the years with exquisite preservation.
Fossils that even a person who knows nothing about paleontology could guess that those structures could be feathers.
So, due to the new data, paleoartists do their thing.
In fact, a close relative of T.rex called Yutyrannus had feathers so…T.rex could have feathers. In fact, it is hightly probable it had them.
Some people can’t handle all these changes and I understand. When I discovered all of this I couldn’t process all the information. But these are the evidence and you can’t deny an evidence.
But some people deny the truth. Why? Because they don’t like it. Yeah…just that. They prefer their lizard-like dinosaurs…because feathers are not scary… You know eagles, guys? Vultures? Those magestic and powerful animals. They are intimidating…so…they are dinos…with feathers…So where is the problem again? You see my point?
Of course, we are not going to add feathers to every dinosaur. Sauropods are one of the groups with less probability to have feathers…but groups close-related with birds…There is no excuse.
Look. Dinosaurs are not monsters. They are animals. They don’t exist to be in your nightmares or to be cool dragons. They are animals and act like animals. They don’t roar at every damn step they make. They don’t kill everything that moves. No. They could be gentle, they could be violent, maternals, tired, curious,…just like every animal that exists and has existed on Earth.
I don’t want to change anyone opinion. I don’t want to reclutate people to my feather nazi army. No. I just want these creatures to being treated as they deserve. Nothing more.
Thank you so much for reading. Hope you like this little reflection. Have a nice day, dear dinosaur lover and remember. That sparrow in the window…it’s a dinosaur.