Comments on: The Dinosaurs We Used to Know

By: Dan Peterson

Dan Peterson — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:33:23 +0000

Charles Knight may have been right all along. Dinosaur trackways PROVE theropods sometime drug their tails. Almost certainly they would have occasionally raised their heads high to scan the terrain for prey. A grayish color for a large dinosaur may be just as accurate as it is for large mammals (elephants). Marsh’s giving them lips and fleshing out their skulls is probably more accurate than the current ‘shrinkwrap look’, and some of the latest computer models suggest they were rather slow and plodding after all. Future scientists may very well laugh at the the “Dinosaur revolution that wasn’t”.

By: Alex Nelson

Alex Nelson — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:55:58 +0000

Hey! I built that Deinonychus for Peabody when working for Research Casting International. My favourite mount to assemble. Love your articles!

By: Tess Kissinger

Tess Kissinger — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:50:37 +0000

Excellent article, thank you.
The important thing about what is going on now is the sheer volume of dinosaur finds.
Where once, the Earth told us the stories of dinosaurs, now dinosaurs can tell us the stories of Earth’s past.

By: David Orr

David Orr — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:00:50 +0000

Great comparison, Neil!

By: Henrique Niza

Henrique Niza — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:55:51 +0000

I like how Lawrence Witmer have put in one of the latest TV shows that we are now understanding “who” dinosaurs were instead of “what” dinosaurs were.

By: BJ Nicholls

BJ Nicholls — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:41:58 +0000

I, for one, think that the old murals and exhibits should be preserved as seen in the Peabody image above and as the Field Museum in Chicago has done in their Evolving Planet exhibit. The story is not only what we know today, it’s also how we got to the current interpretations. Charles Knight’s murals are a perfect backdrop to modern reconstructions.

By: neil

neil — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:07:32 +0000

Amen. I had the pleasure of teaching a history of life course this year and when I got to the lecture about changing perceptions of dinosaurs I had the jarring revelation that some of my students were born after Jurassic Park came out in 1993. For the millenials, the notion of cold-blooded tail dragging super lizards is as familiar as pay phones or dial-up internet.

By: 220mya

220mya — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:07:01 +0000

Heehee – an excellent set-up post for your forthcoming book!

By: SteveCohen

SteveCohen — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:03:33 +0000

The American Museum of Natural History has a special exhibit currently showing — “World’s Largest Dinosaurs” — that showcases the latest science on how sauropods lived and grew so large.

I’m a volunteer “explainer” at AMNH; some vistitors are content with the “boy are they big” aspect of the show, but many are amazed when they learn what the “brontosaurus” that they grew up was really about.

By: PandaGuy

PandaGuy — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:37:34 +0000

This is very exciting! I look forward to this series. I recorded it.