Re: Jurassic Park Dinosaurs

[Sam Girouard <sampgir@premier1.net>]

Friends,

        I very much appreciate the support and rally cries I've received from 
list
members concerning a scientific JP page, and I've decided to give it a go.
I'm going to leave out animals like Metriacanthosaurus that were only
mentioned and not shown, because there just wouldn't be interest in such
information. But, in compiling my list of genera to present, I've come up
with two question taxa:

1. Diplodocus vs. Mamenchisaurus. There seems to be some confusion
concerning the nomenclature of the large sauropod depicted in the Lost
World (you know, the one with the motorcycle...). Official LW publications
and information leaked prior to the film's release identify the creature as
Mamenchisaurus. However, on the web I have seen this animal referred to as
Diplodocus (for example, on Øyvind Padron's page). It seems impossible to
determine the taxonomy based on the shots from the film, although the neck
appears to be extremely long (a la Mamenchisaurus). What's the story?

2. Psittacosaurus. In some official Lost World literature I've seen
reference to Psittacosaurus, and I have even seen a photo (promotional
shot?) of an animatronic Psittacosaurus very obviously created for the
movie, but after watching the film I failed to see one. I am sure the
creature in the photo was Psittacosaurus and not a juvenile Triceratops,
since the creature in the photo was not only labeled as Psittacosaurus, but
it was also in a bipedal pose. Perhaps Psittacosaurus was originally in the
film, but later was cut immediately prior to release? 

Thank you all,

Sam Girouard