Paleontology Chat.

I’m curious if anyone else here is into paleontology as much as I am, you can even chat here if you just like dinosaurs, or curious about the ancient world.
I always wondered why Jurrasic Park was named Jurrasic Park, when majority of the popular dinosaurs showcased throughout the franchise are from the CRETACEOUS Period, Like shouldn’t it be called Cretaceous Park....?
 
I think it’s mostly comercial reasons. Jurassic is a lot easier to pronounce and spell as opposed to Cretaceous. Plus there is still a considerable amount of Jurassic creatures in the film iirc.

But yeah, I’m a big fan of paleontology too! And even though they aren’t technically dinosaurs (as far as I know) Ichthyosaurs is probably one of my favorite extinct animals.
 
When I was just a child, I really wanted to become a paleontologist because I was so fascinated with dinosaurs and extinct things. This was almost certainly because I watched a lot of things about dinosaurs, like Walking with Dinosaurs and The Lost World and of course Jurassic Park. I still have most of the dinosaur books and toys from back then, too. I just can’t get myself to give them away.

If I had to name a favorite extinct reptilian group, it would have to be the Sauropods. They’re so large and majestic and regal.
 
I dont follow paleontology all that much but the Quetzalcoatlus is one the most incredible creatures to have ever lived
I Agree they aren’t dinosaurs, though they are incredibly fascinating reptiles, and amaze me with their massive size.
 
Despite my entire profile being based on The Velociraptor Mongoliensis, my actual favorite dinosaur is the Therizinosaurus cheloniformis, the best example of 11 ft badassery. I Find it amazing how when they were first discovered, with not much evidence they were thought to be massive sickle clawed turtles (until they got more evidence, pointing it out as a dinosaur). The reason I chose the Velociraptor for my mascot is simply because they are so universally well known, and I prefer them to any tyrannosaur. Velociraptors are adorable, but terrifying 3ft tall feathery things... With the best death toenails.

3D5C26CA-1DD4-40EB-B721-A867D34ED4F6.gif
 
I think it’s mostly comercial reasons. Jurassic is a lot easier to pronounce and spell as opposed to Cretaceous. Plus there is still a considerable amount of Jurassic creatures in the film iirc.

But yeah, I’m a big fan of paleontology too! And even though they aren’t technically dinosaurs (as far as I know) Ichthyosaurs is probably one of my favorite extinct animals.
Understandable, though it’s hard not to ignore that the most famous dinosaurs they showcased were from the Cretaceous, including the movies main dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus.
Also, Ichthyosaurs are pretty awesome.
 
Therizinosaurus is actually one of my favorite dinosaurs too, even though it's not a sauropod. I mean, just look at its claws!
 
I have a predatory dinosaur tooth, mammoth bone fragments, fish fossilized into rocks among a few other things. I got these when I was young from a man who was selling them at a stand. They seem to be real dinosaur fossils and having them gives me pleasure as I've always been fascinated with paleontology/ancient artifacts.
 

Cresselia~~

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I used to love visiting a fossil shop in York (UK).
They even have cheaper fossils (that are common) for sale, like 1.5 quid or something.
I really should have bought some.

Fossils fascinate me, sometimes even more than dinosaurs.
I guess it's mostly because you can actually collect small, common fossils without losing an arm or leg.
I particularly like fossils of marine animals, I found corals and crinoids to be really beautiful.
 
I used to love visiting a fossil shop in York (UK).
They even have cheaper fossils (that are common) for sale, like 1.5 quid or something.
I really should have bought some.

Fossils fascinate me, sometimes even more than dinosaurs.
I guess it's mostly because you can actually collect small, common fossils without losing an arm or leg.
I particularly like fossils of marine animals, I found corals and crinoids to be really beautiful.
That’s awesome! My only fossils I own that are real are a few claws and teeth, though I do own a smilodon skull replica. The reason paleontology really fascinated me is just the idea that such amazing creatures lived before the human race, and wondering how they lived, what they looked like, etc...
 
Are you guys talking about dinosaurs? Because I'm actually an archaeologist! However, that actually has nothing to do with dinosaurs, but everyone tells me that it does so I figured I might as well post it here.
 
Are you guys talking about dinosaurs? Because I'm actually an archaeologist! However, that actually has nothing to do with dinosaurs, but everyone tells me that it does so I figured I might as well post it here.
That is really neat! Have you ever found any nice artifacts or Fossils by any chance?
 
That is really neat! Have you ever found any nice artifacts or Fossils by any chance?
Thanks! In all actuality, I've only been on one dig (although I do have a degree on it), but I'm planning on going on several more. My work mainly is in epigraphy, that is, ancient inscriptions. Essentially, I'm going to either try to dig them up before other people find them or find ones that have been dug up in museums (but are unpublished) and then write on them.

However, on the one dig that I did go on, we did find a number of things. To begin, normally when you're digging you do find a lot of different animal bones. This is because people either eat the bones and dispose of them just on the ground or because animals come in later and either die or eat other animals, which then goes into the sort of dirt fill that sits above the original abandoned floor. Now, these aren't fossils per say- the original organic nature of them still remains. Hence, they can be carbon-dated (And also, if you're unsure whether something is a bone or a rock, you can lick it, and the bone will stick to your tongue. Fun disgusting fact about archaeologists!).

There were two interesting cases I had with animal bones on my dig. First, one time we did fine deer antler that was around ~2700 years old laying on someone's floor. This is significant because deer just don't normally walk into people's houses and die, but rather someone has to kill it and put it there. So, it seems like someone was using them for decoration or possibly as some sort of tool. Secondly, there was one time where we were opening a new square (that is, digging into a new segment of fresh ground) and as we were digging we picked up a jawbone. It was rather large and my first inclination was that it was something like a donkey's bust. But then the sort of harrowing realization hit me that what I was holding was probably actually a human jaw bone. And as it turns out, it was. Basically, we found an entire corpse scattered in that square in many different pieces for the next several inches as we went down. Like, there was a lot of human remains. We think the body was probably somewhere under 200 years old and a more recent burial, but I never heard if they ever did radiocarbon dating on it. Needless to say, it was an unsettling experience as we picked up the bones from this person who died and then put them together in these little brown paper baggies, which is similar to what we did with animal remains.

Also, I didn't lick those human bones to see if they were rocks or not.
 
Thanks! In all actuality, I've only been on one dig (although I do have a degree on it), but I'm planning on going on several more. My work mainly is in epigraphy, that is, ancient inscriptions. Essentially, I'm going to either try to dig them up before other people find them or find ones that have been dug up in museums (but are unpublished) and then write on them.

However, on the one dig that I did go on, we did find a number of things. To begin, normally when you're digging you do find a lot of different animal bones. This is because people either eat the bones and dispose of them just on the ground or because animals come in later and either die or eat other animals, which then goes into the sort of dirt fill that sits above the original abandoned floor. Now, these aren't fossils per say- the original organic nature of them still remains. Hence, they can be carbon-dated (And also, if you're unsure whether something is a bone or a rock, you can lick it, and the bone will stick to your tongue. Fun disgusting fact about archaeologists!).

There were two interesting cases I had with animal bones on my dig. First, one time we did fine deer antler that was around ~2700 years old laying on someone's floor. This is significant because deer just don't normally walk into people's houses and die, but rather someone has to kill it and put it there. So, it seems like someone was using them for decoration or possibly as some sort of tool. Secondly, there was one time where we were opening a new square (that is, digging into a new segment of fresh ground) and as we were digging we picked up a jawbone. It was rather large and my first inclination was that it was something like a donkey's bust. But then the sort of harrowing realization hit me that what I was holding was probably actually a human jaw bone. And as it turns out, it was. Basically, we found an entire corpse scattered in that square in many different pieces for the next several inches as we went down. Like, there was a lot of human remains. We think the body was probably somewhere under 200 years old and a more recent burial, but I never heard if they ever did radiocarbon dating on it. Needless to say, it was an unsettling experience as we picked up the bones from this person who died and then put them together in these little brown paper baggies, which is similar to what we did with animal remains.

Also, I didn't lick those human bones to see if they were rocks or not.
That is amazing finding bones that are so old! I've only went digging once in Dinosaur Provincial Park, though we didn't really find anything.
 
So there has been a theory going around about the Smilodon.
It's time for the smilodon to hide those knives and get some lips like literally every mammal we have today.

The theory goes that smilodons may have lips due to protection from tooth rot. Even though Elephants, walruses, etc have exposed tusks, these tusks are used for display purposes to attract mates and to handle fights. Not to mention, those tusks keep on growing and growing!


So I have some images of three different skulls.
Up first we have an Elephant skull. As you can see the tusks do not stay with the skull at all. If the smildon's teeth were rather tusks, the skull would probably not have it's sabers.

tumblr_o4eqxihCZj1tjpdubo1_1280.jpg


Now we have the skull of a Smilodon and a Lion. The huge similarity I see here is that the teeth are still attached to the skull. Those knives the smildon has are most-likely actual teeth that can rot.

15443304452_089448158d_b.jpgafrican-lion-skull-mount-_13743-for-sale-at-the-taxidermy-store.jpg

The other side of the argument said that the smilodon does not have lips due to the fact that it would interrupt their bite. I disagree with this statement, I would imagine the upper lips would be pulled up or stretched when opening it's jaws for a bite, and the lips would be loose when not in use. Or just flop around like how a long-lipped dog would like while biting.

smilodon.png

Here is a silly drawing I made of a smilodon to get an idea on maybe what those lips may be like?
tumblr_o9fclmdbXq1s5f2yxo2_500.png

Here is another depiction of smilodon lips, done by Nix draws Stuff.


Yeah it would look silly but more benificial for their survival.
Let me know what you think about this argument, and feel free to state any theories you may have.
 

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