Re: Utahraptor and Size

[Sherry Michael <st90snk7@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu>]

According to Ralph Chapman, MNHAD002@SIVM.SI.EDU:
> 
> Hey guys: I have been struck by the amazing amount of discussion given
> to the "problems" of size in the raptors in Jurassic Park. As I
> watched the flick, I didn't consider it to be a problem at all. This because
> reptiles seem to have no problem with having a good amount of size
> variation with genera and, given that dinos grew throughout their lives
> as good reptiles, there should be no problem in their being a Velociraptor
> or Dein. that is significantly bigger than the few specimens we have
> available to us....(some zapped)

I may be able to reluctantly buy a dein. being what, 7' tall due to population
variation. I could not however, buy a 7' velociraptor. These specimens
were only dog-sized! Maybe a dein. that's a freak in the population, like
today's basketball players, but not a 'raptor. Remember that they were not
shown as size oddities; all the 'raptors were jumbo size in the movie...man
manipulated effects maybe to make them huge? :)

> 
> Anyway, and I'll enjoy and comments on this, I think it was rather
> reasonable to include a raptor in JP that is of a bigger size than we
> knew of at the time ....

Yeah, I agree. It's a movie. They can do whatever they want to the
dinosaurs in a fiction context and make it "reasonable" to them. Look what
they did to poor dilophosaurus!!!!!! The problem is that they just made
unbased changes to make them "scary" etc, for the movie. They didn't sit
around and calculate population variations. BTW, I *can't* convince some kids
that dilophosaurs didn't spit, were not tiny little beasts with frills!

-Sherry (who ranks dilophosaurus as one of her top five favorates)

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Sherry Michael                         "The scientific point of view is
Philadelphia Academy of                 that every phenomenon is in
Natural Sciences                        nature and part of it" 
Dino Docent/teacher                                   -Albert Kroeber