Jurassic Park is a franchise that has captivated audiences since its release, and it has heavily influenced the public and their perception of dinosaurs by bringing them back to a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth. The series, however, is riddled with scientific inaccuracies, including the size, behavior, and feeding strategies of the dinosaurs. This research paper will focus on the 1993 film Jurassic Park and the portrayal of Brachiosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Tyrannosaurus rex, and Velociraptor. It will also discuss briefly the inaccuracies of the Mosasaurus, Dimorphodon, and Pteranodon from the 2015 film Jurassic World.
The title of the park itself is misleading, suggesting that the dinosaurs that depicted all came from the Jurassic period.
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Its approach can be detected by ripples in the water and by the sound that it makes as it takes each step. This alerts the characters in the film that the T. rex is approaching and gives them ample time to react. In reality, it would be detrimental for a predator to create such high levels of noise because it would alert its prey of its presence. The Tyrannosaur would have been an inefficient predator had it caused impact tremors as it moved, and would not be able to catch its prey without some degree of stealth. Another factor that would be detrimental to the hunting capabilities depicted in Jurassic Park is the portrayal of Tyrannosaurus rex possessing movement based vision and an apparent inability to smell its prey. As Alan Grant states in the film, “It can’t see us if we don’t move,” so the characters simply have to stand still in order to go undetected. The Tyrannosaur had its nose within feet of the characters and was unable to detect their presence, suggesting not only that it was unable to see them, but that its sense of smell was useless as well. Brain casts made of the skull of T. rex shows that “the olfactory tract was long … and the olfactory region well-developed,” which is a strong indicator that Tyrannosaur had an acute sense of smell (Glut, 1997). It is not possible that Tyrannosaurus rex could be a few feet away from a prey item it was actively searching for and not be able to …show more content…
According to fossil records, Velociraptor stood at a height of only 2 feet and a length of 5 ½ feet (Glut, 1997). Velociraptor was roughly the size of a modern-day turkey, and the Velociraptor depicted in the film is closer in size to Deinonychus (Currie, 1997). In addition to the inaccurate size, paleontologists have discovered that Velociraptor possessed feathers. Quill knobs were found on the posterior forearm, which are identical in size and shape to the quill knobs found on present day birds that serve as anchor points for flight feathers (Turner, Makovicky, & Norell, 2007). The discovery of a new dinosaur with well-preserved feathers, Zhenyuanlong, which was a closely related cousin to Velociraptor presents strong evidence that it possessed feathers as well. The lack of feathers in Velociraptor skeletons up to this point can be attributed to the fact that the perfect geological settings required for preserving soft tissues has not been achieved (Brusatte, 2015). The presence of feathers in Velociraptor was not discovered until after Jurassic Park was released, but the Velociraptors in Jurassic World should have, by all rights, possessed feathers in light of this recent
Ceratopsians and Pachycephalosaurs are closely related in their characteristics. Ceratopsians processed a saddle-shaped boney frill that extended from the skull to the neck and typically had horns over the nose and eyes. The most popular was the triceratops, which could reach over 26 feet and weigh in excess of twelve metric tons. Their frills served as two major functions. It protected the vulnerable neck from being harmed. The second major function that the frill provided was due to the fact that the frill contained a network of blood vessels on its underside, which were used as a means to get rid of excess heat. The Pachycephalosaurs were considered to be bipedal. They were also found to have thick skulls, flattened bodies, and tail that were covered in an array of body rods. Pachycephalosaurs were thought to have been more than fifteen feet long and processed a skull that was surrounded by a rounded dome of solid bone. It was thought that they used their heads in combat or mating contests, but that was disproved fairly recently, which I will discuss later in the paper. Both Ceratopsians and Pachycephalosaurs were “bird-hipped” and both of these suborders contained a backwards pubic bone. Both were Marginocephilia, or “fringed heads”, which is one of three clads under the Orinthiscia order. They were also herbivore dinosaurs that inherited their fringe at the back of the skull from earlier ancestors.(2) Their classi...
Paul, Gregory S. (2002). "Looking for the True Bird Ancestor". Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 171–224. ISBN 0-8018-6763-0.
...ories of why dinosaurs went extinct abound, and as there is no theory yet to be truly confirmed as the “right one”, my theory of dinosaur cannibalism is also purely anecdotal. The discovery of the cannibalistic Majungatholus atopus in Madagascar is an important scientific find because it confirms a long-standing theory of cannibalism among certain carnivorous dinosaurs. Behavioral patterns of extinct animals are difficult to establish; however, these bones give authentication to previous unfounded beliefs about the ancient feeding practices of some dinosaurs.
The idea of cloning dinosaurs and other prehistoric life became popularized by the 1992 film Jurassic Park (based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel). Though it may have sparked new interest into the field of paleontology, it did so with deceiving inaccuracies. However, the technical fallacies of the actual dinosaurs are somewhat forgivable as it added to the film’s dramatic appeal. Velociraptor, as depicted in the film, was about the size of a grown man. In reality, velociraptor came to about the kneecap. Furthermore, velociraptor would more likely have been covered in feathers rather than the lizard-like skin portrayed in the movie. One scene shows velociraptor fogging the window of a door. This is an endothermic or warm blooded trait as it implies the dromaeosaurid’s body temperature is above the temperature of his environment. There is also no evidence of dilophosaurus bearing a neck frill, and brachiosaurus did not have the ability to chew his food in a circular motion (iguanodon was the first dinosaur to develop this technique by acquiring back molars to allow for equine or bovine-like chewing). Fortunately, tyrannosaurus remained very close to his biological authenticity, with the only paleobiological errors stemming from a lack in computer animation such as rudimentary ball and joint programs. However, the erroneous nature of the deoxyribonucle...
Ever since we were young we have been fascinated by the dinosaurs. We have played with dinosaurs as children, watched documentaries as adults with interest, and watching movies with enjoyment. No dinosaur from the past strikes more fear in the present day to the average person then that of Tyrannosaurus Rex. For decades children have played with dinosaurs and had T-Rex dominating other dinosaurs by chasing them down and destroying them. We have seen it time and time again in movies. In Jurassic Park we saw T-Rex terrorize humans, cars, and other dinosaurs. We have even dreamt about it, but if a recent study is correct we are false in our fears.
Doctor John Parker Hammond is Scottish venture capitalist who develops a park on an island where dinosaurs can be brought back to life, through the miracles of science. He does this for the entertainment, and profit, of the people. However, the dinosaurs escape to bring terror upon those on the island, themselves, and the island itself. It is made very clear from the first scene that Jurassic Park is a commentary on global market capitalism. It both drives the story and its central complication.
Of course it was the movie Jurassic Park who seemed to coin the phrase “Dino DNA.” This movie gave the public the thought that, a) it is possible to find dinosaur DNA and b) we can clone dinosaurs from this DNA. This essay is not going to pick apart Jurassic Park’s scientific value, however it will share the current knowledge and information on dinosaur DNA. The discovery of DNA is important because it may uncover different bits of information. The idea of cloning dinosaurs, especially at this point is out of the question. It is really hard to clone living animals today, with full DNA and genome strands, we can’t even think about recreating animals millions of years ago.
We use dinosaurs to represent the changes in nature that have occurred throughout time. Studies found that although the “oldest rock did not show evidence of life, the progression of plant and animal life that changed in recognizable intervals, from ancient life, age of reptiles to the age of mammals” (Dino Nature Metaphor, slide 6), measured the age of the earth. When we think of dinosaurs in relation to nature, we think of that very powerful force that controls the cycle of life. Nature was able to yield such magnificent ferocious creatures that walked the earth and then take them back when they served nature’s purpose. Dinosaurs fit perfectly in nature’s constant
Display, communication, and the act of mating are estimated behaviors involved in the mating process of dinosaurs. The sexual behaviors of modern vertebrae are often used as a starting point to estimate that of dinosaurs. For instance, most modern vertebrae go through a sexual selection process as they choose their mate based on preferred traits. This is demonstrated with the modern day peacock. The visual stimulus the male provides with its tail feathers aids in the opposite gender’s sexual selection process. According to Martin, in this respect, the ceratopsians have the most obvious sexual displays in the form of ornate and broad head shields with horns, knobs, and bosses. Though these body parts could definitely prove useful to fend off potential predators, it is more likely that they were used for: visual recognition within their species; pote...
Jurassic Park is a fantastic movie for its life-like re-creation of dinosaurs and its outstanding use of computer generated images and sounds. From the first scene where dinosaurs enter the frame to the last, they bring a level of excitement to the screen like only the mighty T-Rex does. Industrial Light and Magic and Stan Winston’s
...ll. This group still remained successful during the Jurassic period and had a wide geopraphic distribution. Other reptiles evolved to not only live on land, but to fly. The earliest known birds appeared during this period; Archaeoteryx being the first to be considered the intermediate between the birds and predatory dinosaurs. It is debated on whether this ancient bird could actually fly or merely glid from tree to tree. Carnosaurus, meaning “meat-eating” is another group of dinosaurs that ruled during the Jurassic. With such large herbivorous prey animals, the correlation of these large predators make sense of why they were so common. An Allosaurus was one of the most common Carnosaurs in North America. Upon finding numerous intact skeletons in fossil beds, it has been reported that the Allosaurus was superficially similar to the later evolving Tyrannosaurus rex.
The debate of whether dinosaurs were cold blooded or warm blooded has been ongoing since the beginning of the century. At the turn of the century scientists believed that dinosaurs had long limbs and were fairly slim, supporting the idea of a cold blooded reptile. Recently, however, the bone structure, number or predators to prey, and limb position have suggested a warm blooded species. In addition, the recent discovery of a fossilized dinosaur heart has supported the idea that dinosaurs were a warm blooded species. In this essay, I am going to give supporting evidence of dinosaurs being both warm and cold blooded. I will provide background information on the dinosaur that was discovered and what information it provides scientists.
...pdated 1995, accessed 3 Sept. 2000), Dino Buzz – What killed The Dinosaurs ? – Current Arguments,
The Jurassic Period of our earth’s history was one of great change. It began with a major extinction even, bounced back, and was yet again the victim of an extinction event. The Jurassic was a flourishing time of new species adapting, changing, and modernizing to suit the ever-changing world they
Dinosaurs were enormous, cold blooded creatures that roamed the earth about 237 million years ago. Not only that, but there was a great variety of them as well. Carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, and not only that but they were also different in their physical appearance and bone structure. For instance, the Pterodactyl was a flying reptile, or the Brachiosaurus that with its long neck was able to reach heights of up to 85+ feet long, and this are only a few examples of the many different species of dinosaurs there were.