RE: Walking With Dinosaurs

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Alien4240@aol.com
>
> I haven't seen this series or episode or whateer you call it yet,
> but I've
> heard some bad stuff about it's accuracy. Is it bad enough that it's not
> worth the time to watch it or is it still fun to just watch and
> enjoy? Also,
> can I buy a copy of it if I like it (It's showing this Sunday here) and I
> can't get it's taped off my satellite? Thanks
>

DEFINITELY watch it!  Yes, there are errors in it, ranging from the minor to
the intermediate (late Norian _Plateosaurus_ meeting late Carnian dinosaurs)
to the major (the hands of _Anatotitan_, the peeing _Postosuchus_).  Still,
it is generally more factually accurate than most of the dinosaur
documentaries that have been on TV.

Most importantly, though, remember the conciet of the show: this is not
about dinosaur science; this is an attempt to portray a hypothetical nature
special filmed in the Mesozoic.  As such the producers had to sacrifice
proper scientific caution in order to show things actually happening.

As an educational exercise, observe the behaviors and interactions shown and
think "Do we know that dinosaurs/rauisuchians/ichthyosaurs/whatever did
this?  How would we know?  Why might we think that they did (or didn't)?".

Hope this helps.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/tholtz.htm
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-314-7843