Re: Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus (Was Re: Novel way to reconstruct a skull)

[tlford@ix.netcom.com]

James R. Cunningham wrote:
> 
> Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:
> snipped
> > After reading about how much leeway there was in the way the skull was
> > reconstructed--by flexing and bending wax replicas of the individual bones
> > "until they fit together"(!)--I believe one could deform the
> > braincase--deliberately!--to make it look very different from that of
> > _Apatosaurus_. Doctor Bob is not necessarily above this kind of chicanery to
> > push forward a passionately held viewpoint.
> 
> I think Dr. Bakker is very much 'above' a deliberate deformation.  This
> appears to be a valid attempt at reconstruction, and is essentially
> identical in concept to techniques currently being used to remove
> distortion from Quetzalcoatlus cervical vertebrae.
> 

Oh, man, you people on this list are so full of crap, you don't even
have a clue as to what Bakker has done. I know so many things about him,
what he's done, etc., but out of professional curtisy, I'll keep my
mouth shut. What, you think he's a god? Sure he's done great things for
paleontology and the Tate Museum, but he's done much against it. 

I know what Ralph Chapman thinks of him (He sees one side of him), I
know what others think of him whom he as pissed off (they have seen the
other side of him, and no I can't revel their names). He is NOT (that I
know of and I know why he isn't, which is a big can of worms) a member
of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontolgy (that doesn't mean he can't go
to the meetings). 

Heres one thing he does, and has been documented, he has put other
paleontologist names on his papers (I waiting to comfurm something on
this subject), he dosen't publish, except for in bibliographs. Last year
he allueded to a Hunteria volume that has Wyomingraptor, it even has a
volume number and publication date, and it hasn't been published. Why,
if it's in prep, or press it's one thing, but to blantialy state that it
IS published is another thing. Will it get published? Probably not, why?
Because Bob is the charge of it and Dinamation is going to publish it. 

Did he ever work on Jurassic Park? NO!!! He's lying to everone. Just ask
Jack Horner who DID work on it.

Does he use popular names for dinosaurs, YES! He's using Raptor for
Allosaurs, why? See the SVP abstracts from a few years ago. 

I'll stop for now.

I'll just end with this, I really REALLY wish he'd get his act together,
he DOES have a lot to say and a lot to contrubute, but with his
reputation, that the lay man doesn't have a clue on, which is the
majority of you on the list, he won't be taken seriously.

I appologize for ranting, but come on people..

Tracy